Quote 7
[…] Im proud a what Im selling. I cant help it. We all telling stories that need to be told. 16.3
Aibileen believes that revealing her perspective, and encouraging the other maids to reveal theirs, will help dissipate some of the racial tension in the town.
Quote 8
What am I doing? I must be crazy, giving a white woman the sworn secrets of the colored race to a white lady. […] Feel like Im talking
behind my own back. 17.50 Minny is afraid that if she tells her secrets, they will only be used against her.
Quote 9
Is this really happening? Is a white woman really beating up a white man to save me? Or did he shake my brain pan loose and Im over
there dead on the ground… 24.95
Quote 10
This ones for the white lady. Tell her we love her like, like shes our own family. 29.107
Working on Help and going up against Hilly makes Skeeter an outcast in the white community. But it sure earns her acceptance into the black community.
Minny begins to understand that Celia Rae Foote is more than just a white lady – shes a tough, big-hearted woman who will do just about anything for Minny.
3.2 The Characterization
Character List and Analysis
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Major Characters Eugenia Skeeter Phelan
Skeeter is the 22-year-old privileged daughter of a cotton plantation owner. She returns to Jackson, Mississippi, following her college graduation and
finds that her perspective on the division between white Southern households and black maids has changed. Skeeter wants to be a writer, but her mother wants her
to be a wife. Skeeter falls for the senators son but the romance ends when Stuart learns of her civil rights leanings. She approaches an editor in New York City
with the idea of writing about black maids in her town and is tentatively given approval. The project begins her transformation from the woman she was raised to
be to the independent, brave woman who chooses her own path. “Miss Skeeter real tall and skinny. Her hair yellow and cut short
above her shoulders cause she get the frizz year round. She twenty- three or so, same as Miss Leefolt and the rest of em. She set her
pocketbook on the chair, kind a itch around in her clothes a second. She wearing a white lace blouse buttoned up like a nun, flat shoes so I
reckon she don’t look any taller. Her blue skirt gaps open in the waist. Miss Skeeter always look like somebody else told her what to wear.”
P.4 “I turn up the lane that leads to Longleaf, my family’s cotton
plantation.” P.54 “Surrounding our yard lie ten thousand acres of Daddy’s cotton
fileds, the plants green and strong, tall as my waist.” P.55 “I’ll never be able to tell Mother I want to be a writer.” P.56
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Skeeters character represents the theme of alienation throughout the novel. For example, she becomes isolated from the community of southern women in
which she was raised. She fails at meeting her mothers expectations for what a proper woman should do and creates conflicts within her group of friends because
she questions the way things are done. When Skeeter returns from university, she tries to reenter her old life but finds that the life she left behind now looks
different. Her alienation eventually leads to self-awareness of her role within the segregated society, which shocks her and motivates her writing project. The
writing project also leads to a friendship with Aibileen that never would have been possible if Skeeter hadnt chosen to break from her own community. Eventually,
she must choose between her past and her future. Skeeter decides to leave her community and move to New York City to follow her dream of writing.
“And then I’ll go to New York the next morning.” P.436 Aibileen
Aibileen is a wise and weathered black maid who has raised seven white children. She works for Elizabeth Leefolt and adores toddler Mae Mobley
Leefolt— even though she knows that the loving relationship could hurt them both. Aibileen has changed since her sons death, and she finds that she cannot
accept the way things are so easily now. The book she writes with Skeeter and the other maids empowers her to stand up for injustices. She teaches the children she
raises that the color of skin does not matter but love and kindness do; but she often feels that the message is countered by the racism in Jackson. Aibileen
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realizes she has more to offer in life than being a maid and finds the courage to try something new.
“Mae Mobley was born on a early Sunday morning in August, 1960. A church baby we like to call it. Taking care a white babies, that’s
what I do, along with all the cooking and cleaning. I done raised seventeen kids in my lifetime. I know how to get them babies to
sleep, stop crying, and go in the toilet bowl before they mamas even get out a bet in the morning.” P.1
“But I ain’t never seen a baby yell like Mae Mobley Leefolt. First day I walk in the door, there she be, red-hot and hollering with the
colic, fighting that bottle like it’s a rotten turnip. Miss Leefolt, she look terrified
a her own child. “What am I doing wrong? Why I can’t stop it?” It? That was my first hint: something is wrong
with this situation. So I took that pink, screaming baby in my arms. Bounced her on my hip to get the gas moving and it didn’t take two
minutes fore Baby Girl stopped her crying, got to smiling up at me l ike she do. But Miss Leefolt, she don’t pick up her own baby for the
rest a the day.” P.1 Throughout the novel Aibileens character triumphs in the face of
adversity, but the growth is a slow, painful process. Even though she is still mourning the loss of her son, she finds solace in her maternal role raising white
children. Her identity is determined by her place in society as a maid, but she embraces a central role in the writing project with Skeeter and finds a new identity
as a writer, too. Aibileen realizes the danger that could result from her decisions, but she embraces the risk and relies on her faith for guidance. In the end, Aibileen
discovers her own courage and talents, which leads her to leave her job as a maid and accept an undetermined path that will lead to more independence.
“That was the day my whole world went black. Air look black, sun look black. I laid up in bed and stared at the black walls a my house.
Minny came ever day to make sure I was still breathing, feed me food to keep me living. Took three months fore I even look out the
window, see if the world still there. I was surprise to see the world didn’t stop just cause my boy did.” P.3
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“I ain’t gone be able to get no other job as a maid, not with Miss
Leefolt and Miss Hilly calling me a thief. Mae Mobley was my last white baby. And here I just bought this new uniform.” P.444
Minny
Minny, a black maid and Aibileens best friend, has five children and is married to Leroy. She is highly regarded for her cooking skills, but her
outspokenness often leads to getting fired. Minny develops an uneasy friendship with her employer, Celia Rae, who becomes devoted to her. Celia and Minny gain
strength from each other, leading them to take control of their own lives. In the end, Minny decides to leave her abusive husband and chart an unknown course
rather than live with the pain he inflicts. “Minny short and big, got shiny black curls. She setting with her legs
splayed, her thick arms crossed. She seventeen years younger than I am. Minny could probably lift this bus up over her head if she wanted
to. Old lady like me’s lucky to have her as a friend.” P.13
Minny is an individual struggling against society. Her inner nature is often at war against the world. As a black maid she is expected to be submissive and
quiet, but Minny is neither. She says what she feels, often speaking out against the injustice she experiences and witnesses. Her individualism leads to conflict with
Hilly Holbrook, who has more power in the society, but it also leads to an uneasy friendship with Celia, her employer. Because Celia guarantees her a place in her
home, Minny becomes even more brazen and reveals Hillys great secret, which imbues Minny with a bit of her own power.
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“Mama, fix me something to eat. I’m hungry. ” That’s what my youngest girl, Kindra, who’s five said to me last night. With a hand on
her hip and her foot stuck out. I have five kids and I take pride that I
taught them yes ma’am and please before they could even say cookie.” P.51
“I’m standing in Miss Celia’s kitchen thinking about last night, what
with Kindra and her mouth, Benny and his asthma, my husband Leroy coming home drunk two times last week.” P.51
Hilly Holbrook
Hilly is Skeeters childhood friend turned wealthy Jackson socialite. She is the president of the Junior League and married to a future politician. She enforces the
need for segregation and punishes anyone who disagrees. Hilly tries to control the white women in Jackson, Mississippi, and holds tight to power through blackmail,
and threats. When her social status declines, she becomes desperate and pitiful.
Hilly fights to maintain power throughout the story. As a wealthy white woman in the South, she enjoys a position of great influence, but because her status is often
maintained through bullying and threats, friends, such as Skeeter, turn on her. Hilly represents an old world order destined to be destroyed. The Civil Rights
Movement is sweeping through the South while Hilly desperately tries to maintain the social division between blacks and whites in Jackson. Her power is eventually
diffused as the women she tries to control question whether she has their best intentions at heart or is simply grabbing at more power.
Celia Rae Foote
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A newcomer to Jackson, Celia desperately wants to belong to the Junior League but finds herself unwelcome because she married Hillys ex-boyfriend,
Johnny Foote. Celia hires Minny to secretly cook and to clean so Johnny does not discover her lack of womanly skills. Celias backwoods upbringing and glamorous
Hollywood looks cause her to be an outcast in the womens community to which she tries so desperately to belong. Celia eventually discovers that the love of her
husband and good friend, Minny, are enough for her. Celia represents the theme of growth and initiation. She is completely
isolated from the community of Jackson, and her loneliness leads to desperate acts, such as phoning the society women repeatedly, showing up at their homes
uninvited, and making a fool of herself at the Benefit, the biggest social event of the year. Through her rejection, though, she learns to stand up for herself. Celia
defends herself and Minny one afternoon against an intruder, and the violent encounter propels her to take even more initiative in her life. She tells Johnny the
truth about her many miscarriages and further entrusts Minny as a friend. Celia evolves from an outsider terrified of not belonging into a braver woman grateful
for her roles as wife and friend. She learns that the society women arent worth her degradation.
Minor Characters Elizabeth Leefolt
Skeeters childhood friend who is consumed with making her home look nicer than it is. She seems to have little interest in being a mother and is annoyed
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by her own daughter, Mae Mobley. Elizabeth cares about appearances and will do anything to protect her reputation.
Mae Mobley Leefolt
Elizabeths child whom Aibileen calls Baby Girl. She yearns for her mothers attention but is rejected and turns to Aibileen for comfort. Mae Mobley is
confused by what she sees in her loving Aibileen and what she is told by her teacher Miss Taylor, who says black people are beneath white people.
Johnny Foote
Successful businessman and Jackson native. He is Hillys ex-boyfriend. He married Celia because they thought she was pregnant, but he is now an attentive
and loving husband. He seems to love Celia for who she is and cares little about
keeping up appearances. Leroy
Minnys abusive husband who is often drunk. He reigns over their house with threats and violence.
Charlotte Phelan
Skeeters overbearing mother who is losing a battle with cancer. She reinforces the ideas of what it means to be a white Southern woman. She tries to
control every aspect of Skeeters appearance and her life but her efforts backfire.
Constantine
The Phelan familys previous maid. She raised Skeeter but was fired while Skeeter was away at college. Constantine gave birth to an illegitimate daughter,
who turned out to be very fair skinned, and gave her up for adoption.
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Pascagoula
The Phelan familys current maid.
Stuart Whitworth
The good-looking son of a state senator. He is Hillys husbands cousin. Stuarts heart has been broken by a promiscuous Southern belle, but he finds room
in it for Skeeter until he discovers that she may support civil rights.
Elaine Stein
Senior editor with Harper Row, Publishers, in New York. She is stern and honest with Skeeter about the writing world, and she reluctantly guides her
career.
Louvenia Brown
Church friend of Minny and Aibileen. Her grandson is beaten and blinded for using a white bathroom in town.
Yule May
Hillys maid. She attended Jackson College and is now saving to send her twin boys to Tougaloo College.
Lulabelle Bates
Constantines daughter. She was born fair enough to pass for white even though both of her parents are black. Constantine decides the pressure of trying to
raise a light-skinned child in a black community is too much; and to assure
Lulabelles future, she drops her off at an orphanage when she is four years old. Miss Taylor
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Mae Mobleys preschool teacher. She is racist and teaches the children that black children are not smart enough to attend school and that black faces are dirty
and bad. Aibileen tries to counter the message for Mae Mobley with kindness and love for all people, regardless of skin color.
Lou Anne
Another member of the Junior League and friend of Elizabeth and Hilly. Louvenia is her maid and Lou Anne, who suffers from depression, swears her
gratitude and devotion to her for helping her through her illness. She crosses Hilly and surprises Skeeter, who mistakenly assumed Lou Anne was just like the rest of
Hillys crowd.
Character Map
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3.2 The Plot
