The Help

“Got to be the worst place in the world, inside a oven. You in here, you either cleaning or you getting cooked. Tonight I just know I’m on have that dream I’m stuck inside and the gas gets turned on. But I keep my head in that awful place cause I’d rather be anywhere sides answering Miss Leefolt’s questions about what Miss Skeeter was trying to say to me. Asking do I want to change things.” 

This quote exemplifies the humor Stockett infuses into the narrative alongside heavy topics. Aibileen’s oven-cleaning observations are comical, yet they’re balanced by her earnest avoidance of Elizabeth. Furthermore, Stockett shows that Skeeter’s question, however ignorant, has planted a seed of curiosity in Aibileen that she cannot shake. This question about changing things simmers inside of Aibileen and eventually leads her to bravely step forward and help Skeeter with the book.

“So Jackson’s just one white neighborhood after the next and more springing up down the road. But the colored part a town, we one big anthill, surrounded by state land that ain’t for sale. As our numbers get bigger, we can’t spread out. Our part of town just gets thicker.” 

Aibileen’s explanation of the physical separation that exists between white and Black neighborhoods represents the social separation between them. The white community has unlimited space, while the Black community is confined to one part of town despite population growth. This coincides with Stockett’s motif of contrasting the white community with the Black community, showing the privilege of the former against the disadvantage of the latter, for no other reason than their respective skin colors.

“All my life I’d been told what to believe about politics, coloreds, being a girl. But with Constantine’s thumb pressed in my hand, I realized I actually had a choice in what I could believe.”

Skeeter’s reminiscences of Constantine contribute to her character development. Skeeter clearly differs from the rest of the Jackson League ladies, and Stockett shows how Constantine’s influence shaped Skeeter from a young age. This quote also highlights the impact Constantine’s words of wisdom had on Skeeter, showing the special bond they shared.

“You a smart girl. You a kind girl, Mae Mobley. You hear me? And I keep saying it till she repeat it back to me.” 

Knowing that Mae Mobley has a hard road ahead of her because of her mother’s undisguised scorn, Aibileen takes it upon herself to instill values of kindness and self-esteem in Mae Mobley, affirming positive qualities in her every day. This serves as an example of how Aibileen is changing. She is less accepting of the way things are, and this is one small act that could make a difference. It also shows the genuine love she has for Mae Mobley, similar to the love Constantine had for Skeeter, whose mother was also a constant voice of criticism.

“Truth. It feels cold, like water washing over my sticky-hot body. Cooling a heat that’s been burning me up all my life. Truth, I say inside my head again, just for the feeling.” 

When Aibileen talks to Minny about telling their stories to Skeeter, Minny initially tells Aibileen she’s crazy for considering it. However, the word “truth” stops her. Stockett’s comparison of truth to a cooling water for Minny highlights the frustration and anger that’s been building up in Minny since she started work as a maid at 14 years old. The thought of communicating that truth and being heard eventually compels her to tell her own stories to Skeeter.

“In Hilly’s parlor, a portrait of a Confederate general hangs eight feet tall. It is as prominent as if he were a grandfather and not a third cousin removed.” 

In Stockett’s descriptions of the houses of white families, memorabilia and reminders of the Civil War are often present, not only here in Hilly’s house, but also in Celia and Johnny’s house and in the Whitworth’s historic home. Through these descriptions, Stockett shows the way Southern culture at this time in history glorified the South’s role in the war as something to be celebrated, rather than something of which to be ashamed. Skeeter’s observations about the portrait in Hilly’s house also serve to solidify Stockett’s characterization of Hilly as racist, looking to take any opportunity to make others feel inferior.

“I see something I haven’t noticed before. Anticipation, a glint of excitement. I’ve been so wrapped up in my own self, it hasn’t occurred to me that Aibileen might be as thrilled as I am that an editor in New York is going to read her story. I smile and take a deep breath, my hope growing stronger.” 

Stockett highlights the fundamentally human folly that one is often so wrapped up in his or her own emotions that one fails to recognize what others are feeling. Skeeter finds common ground with Aibileen in their mutual excitement about the book. Furthermore, over the course of the novel, Skeeter gradually learns to release her preconceived judgments of others and to look beyond the surface before drawing conclusions about one’s character.

“Hilly raises he voice about three octaves higher when she talks to colored people. Elizabeth smiles like she’s talking to a child, although certainly not her own. I am starting to notice things.” 

As Skeeter listens to Aibileen’s stories, she gains a new perspective that changes her perceptions of her friends. Here, Stockett shows Skeeter’s new observations of how Hilly and Elizabeth treat the help with obvious condescension. This is just one example of many that Stockett gives of the changes in Skeeter’s character that result from listening to the maids tell their stories.

“Good. Then get going. Before this civil rights thing blows over.”

Elaine Stein informs Skeeter that she will need to finish the book quickly because of the timing of Martin Luther King’s march in Washington, D.C., thinking that the Civil Rights movement will come and go promptly. Stockett uses Missus Stein’s comment satirically, since the Civil Rights movement lasted for several years and brought far-reaching impacts to the nation.

“What makes you think colored people need your help? Minny stands up, chair scraping. ‘Why you even care about this? You white.’” 

Minny’s blunt words to Skeeter bring up the issue of the book’s point of view. Although Minny’s words sound somewhat harsh at first glance, Stockett uses them to bring up a valid point: What place does Skeeter, a privileged white woman, have to be compiling and editing the stories of Black maids? The situation reflects the reality in Jackson during the 1960s. However wrong it may be, Skeeter’s position as a white woman offers the educated expertise and publishing connection they need if they hope to get the stories published.

“That kind a love always make me want a cry. Even when it going to Miss Hilly. Cause it makes me think about Treelore, how much he love me. I appreciate seeing a child adoring they mama.”

Despite how cruelly Hilly treats Aibileen, Aibileen can still recognize a positive quality in her: that she genuinely loves her children. It speaks volumes about Aibileen’s character that she has a kind word to say about Hilly. Aibileen’s thoughts also show the high value she places on a mother’s relationship with her child. Hilly’s relationship with her children and Aibileen’s relationship with Treelore is set at odds with Elizabeth’s relationship with Mae Mobley and Mrs. Phelan’s relationship with Skeeter. Through these many parent-child relationships, Stockett shows the critical role parents play in who their child turns out to be, a principle that Aibileen knows well from firsthand experience.

“‘Separate but equal,’ Miss Hilly say back to Miss Leefolt. “That’s what Governor Ross Barnett says is right, and you can’t argue with the government.”

Hilly’s refrain of “separate but equal” refers to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1896 that states could enforce segregation laws without violating the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. However, examples in the novel show that separate schools, grocery stores, libraries, and hospitals for Black people were far from equal to those for white people. Stockett also uses Hilly’s comment sarcastically, showing Hilly’s belief in the infallibility of the government, when history clearly shows that the government is often in the wrong.

“After a while, Miss Leefolt go to the material store. Say she gone make a cover for something. She don’t know what. Mae Mobley look at me and I reckon we thinking the same thing: that woman’d cover us both up if she could.”

Elizabeth constantly puts up a false front to others, particularly in regard to her lack of money. She covers old or unattractive household items to gloss over imperfections. Here, Stockett uses Aibileen’s musings to show that in Miss Leefolt’s eyes, Mae Mobley and Aibileen are just additional imperfections in her life that Elizabeth would like to conceal.

“She touch my arm and look me straight in the eyes again. I can’t believe what I see. It’s like she been waiting on me to ask her all this time.”

Aibileen is surprised to find that she misjudged Yule May. She asked every other maid to help with the interviews, but waited to ask Yule May, thinking that as Miss Hilly’s maid, she would never take the risk. This serves as an example of the novel’s theme that it’s easy to misjudge others, even one’s friends. The only way to really know what someone else thinks is to have an honest conversation.

“I’m wondering, how did she get this far in life without knowing where the lines are drawn? I mean, a floozy calling the society ladies is bad enough. But she has sat down and eaten lunch with me every single day since I started working here. I don’t mean in the same room, I mean at the same table.”

Minny’s thoughts about Miss Celia point to Stockett’s theme of the imaginary lines that falsely dictate a person’s value and what they can and cannot do. Celia doesn’t see these nonexistent lines. She doesn’t recognize that the society ladies treat her as an outcast because they see her as “white trash,” and she doesn’t see the racial lines that separate her and Minny. Through Celia’s actions and Minny’s frustration, Stockett asks the reader to consider whether those lines exist, and how they do or do not dictate one’s actions towards others.

“It makes me wonder how many white women’s breakfasts she has ingrained in her brain. I wonder how it would feel to spend your whole life trying to remember other people’s preferences on toast butter and starch amounts and sheet changing.” 

As Skeeter listens to stories from the maids, her perspective gradually changes based on what she learns. In this quote, she puts herself in the shoes of her family’s maid, Pascagoula, for a moment. A few lines later, she sincerely thanks Pascagoula for serving her breakfast, something Skeeter has never really done before. This is one example among many that Stockett uses to show the gradual transformation of Skeeter’s mindset.

“She’s got no goo on her face, her hair’s not sprayed, her nightgown’s like an old prairie dress. She takes a deep breath through her nose and I see it. I see the white trash girl she was ten years ago. She was strong. She didn’t take no shit from nobody.”

When Celia saves Minny from the naked man, Minny catches a glimpse of a different side of Celia—the tough girl from Sugar Ditch. Not only do Celia’s actions show how much she cares about Minny, but they also show that Minny misjudged her. Minny rolls her eyes at Celia’s tacky clothes and gets frustrated with her constant attempts to win the favor of the society ladies, but here she realizes that Celia is not the weak, girly girl she thought. This exemplifies Stockett’s theme that people are easily misjudged, and it draws similarities between Celia and Minny—two strong women.

“She cannot eat unless it’s through a straw. She’s lost her power of smell completely. Yet she can sense, from an entirely different room, if my wardrobe is disappointing.” 

Stockett expertly combines both heaviness and humor as she describes Mrs. Phelan’s failing health. Although Skeeter’s mother is rapidly declining at this point in the novel, Stockett shows that she has kept her spunk, especially in regard to her mission of getting Skeeter married off to an eligible bachelor. As much as Skeeter has suffered under her mother’s criticism, the humor employed here paints Mrs. Phelan’s critical eye as a more endearing quality than one of frustration. However, Skeeter’s mother serves as an example of the societal mentality of the time that a woman’s value stems largely from her appearance and her role as a wife.

“I’m scared but I can’t help but roll my eyes. I bet Miss Leefolt ain’t got no idea it be about herself. I mean, thank the Lord, but still. She probably shaking her head in bed last night, reading bout this awful woman who don’t know how to love her own child.”

Miss Leefolt doesn’t recognize her own self in Aibileen’s chapter, pointing to the fact that she works so hard to put up a false front to others, she has succeeded in fooling herself. Ironically, Aibileen sees who Elizabeth is more clearly than she sees herself. Stockett also draws attention to the heartbreaking relationship between Elizabeth and Mae Mobley.

“They think big strong Minny, she sure can stand up for herself. But they don’t know what a pathetic mess I turn into when Leroy’s beating on me. I’m afraid to hit back. I’m afraid he’ll leave me if I do. I know it makes no sense and I get so mad at myself for being so weak! How can I love a man who beats me raw? Why do I love a fool drinker? One time I asked him, ‘Why? Why are you hitting me?’ He leaned down and looked me right in the face. ‘If I didn’t hit you, Minny, who knows what you become.’” 

Although signs of Leroy’s abusiveness pop up throughout the novel, Minny rarely talks about it. As Minny questions her willingness to subject herself to Leroy’s abuse, Stockett draws a parallel between Minny and Celia. Both are depicted as strong women, yet both struggle to stop begging for approval from their oppressors—Minny to Leroy and Celia to the Society ladies. However, by the novel’s end, both succeed in cutting ties with those who mistreated them.

“I watch Lou Anne slip away in the parking lot, thinking, There is so much you don’t know about a person. I wonder if I could’ve made her days a little bit easier, if I’d tried. If I’d treated her a little nicer. Wasn’t that the point of the book? For women to realize, We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I’d thought.” 

This is a significant moment for Skeeter as the message of the book sinks in for her. It points to Stockett’s theme that just as Skeeter misread Lou Anne’s constant smile, one’s judgments of others are often mistaken. When people take the time to ask, to look deeper than the surface, and to get to know a person, they will likely see more similarities than differences.

“I think about the first time Miss Skeeter came to my house, how awkward we was. Now I feel like we family.”

When Skeeter stops at Aibileen’s house one last time before moving to New York, Aibileen muses about how much their relationship has changed since they first started the interviews. Her thoughts highlight that change has taken place in both of them, as well as the deep friendship they developed over the course of the novel.

“I look deep into her rich brown eyes and she look into mine. Law, she got old-soul eyes, like she done lived a thousand years. And I swear I see, down inside, the woman she gone grow up to be. A flash from the future. She is tall and straight. She is proud. She got a better haircut. And she is remembering the words I put in her head. Remembering as a full-grown woman.”

As Aibileen says goodbye to Mae Mobley, she can sense that Mae Mobley will not forget the lessons Aibileen taught her about herself, and about not judging others by the color of their skin. Stockett highlights the immense impact the maids have on the children they raise, more so sometimes than the children’s parents. More specifically, Stockett affirms the special bond between Aibileen and Mae Mobley, one that shares several similarities with the bond between Skeeter and Constantine.