Character Analysis (AQA A-Level English Literature A): Revision Notes

Character Analysis

Introduction to the novel's characters

The Help by Kathryn Stockett presents a cast of characters living in 1960s Jackson, Mississippi, during a period of intense racial and class division. The novel explores how these characters navigate the rigid social hierarchies of the American South, with particular focus on the relationships between white employers and their Black domestic workers. Through multiple narrative voices, Stockett reveals the complexity of these relationships and the courage required to challenge deeply entrenched systems of oppression.

The three main narrators

The novel employs three distinct narrative perspectives, allowing readers to experience events from different viewpoints. This narrative technique is crucial to the novel's exploration of race, class, and gender in the segregated South.

Skeeter Phelan

Eugenia Skeeter Phelan is a 22-year-old recent university graduate who becomes the catalyst for change in the story. As a young white woman from a privileged background, Skeeter defies the traditional expectations placed upon Southern white women of her era. Rather than settling into marriage and domesticity, she harbours journalistic ambitions and dreams of a career.

Key characteristics and development:

Skeeter's character represents the white savior archetype, a controversial literary figure who comes from a position of privilege to assist marginalized people. Whilst her intentions are genuine, this aspect of her character invites critical examination of who benefits from telling stories of oppression. Her role as the initiator of the book project about maids' experiences positions her as a conduit for these stories, though she herself has not experienced the hardships she documents.

The novel traces Skeeter's significant personal growth. Initially, she displays naivety about the true nature of racial oppression in her community. Her privileged upbringing has shielded her from understanding the daily indignities and dangers faced by Black domestic workers. Through her interviews with Aibileen and Minny, she begins to recognize her own complicity in perpetuating injustice and develops a more nuanced understanding of systemic racism.

Skeeter's rejection of Stuart and her decision to pursue opportunities in New York represent her break from Southern expectations. Her physical appearance - described as lanky and tall - sets her apart from the petite, conventionally feminine ideal embodied by women like Hilly. This outsider status makes her more willing to question social norms.

Relationship with Constantine:

Skeeter's connection to Constantine, her childhood maid, reveals her capacity for genuine affection across racial lines. Constantine served as a maternal figure during Skeeter's formative years, and her mysterious disappearance drives much of Skeeter's motivation to understand the experiences of domestic workers. This relationship also exposes Skeeter's moral growth, particularly when she must confront her own mother's betrayal of Constantine.

Aibileen Clark

At 53 years old, Aibileen Clark is an experienced domestic worker who has spent decades raising white children whilst enduring profound personal loss. She serves as one of the novel's primary narrators, contributing 12 chapters that provide philosophical depth and emotional resonance to the story.

Narrative voice and wisdom:

Aibileen's narrative sections are characterized by grace, dignity, and quiet strength. Her repeated affirmation to Mae Mobley - 'You is kind. You is smart. You is important' - becomes one of the novel's most memorable refrains, demonstrating her commitment to instilling self-worth in a child whose own mother neglects her. This phrase illustrates Aibileen's recognition that the messages children internalize shape their entire lives.

Through her chapters, Aibileen offers profound insights into the contradictions of her position. She loves the white children she raises whilst understanding that they will likely grow up to perpetuate the same racist system that oppresses her. This painful awareness adds complexity to her character and highlights the psychological toll of domestic work.

The maternal archetype:

Aibileen embodies the maternal archetype, representing nurturing, wisdom, and selfless care. However, Stockett deliberately complicates this stereotype. Whilst Aibileen does display maternal qualities, the novel also explores how the expectation that Black women serve as surrogate mothers to white children comes at tremendous personal cost. Aibileen has raised 17 white children whilst her own son, Treelore, died young - a loss that continues to haunt her.

Her participation in the book project represents a quiet act of rebellion. Despite the enormous risks, including loss of employment and potential violence, Aibileen chooses to tell her truth. Her decision to become involved marks a significant shift from endurance to active resistance.

Personal transformation:

Following Treelore's death, Aibileen experiences a crisis of faith and purpose. Her involvement with Skeeter's project becomes part of her healing process, allowing her to transform her grief into meaningful action. By the novel's conclusion, Aibileen finds the courage to leave domestic work entirely, reclaiming her dignity and agency. Her firing by Elizabeth, rather than crushing her spirit, liberates her to pursue her own dreams of writing.

Minny Jackson

Minny Jackson, a 33-year-old mother of fourteen children, provides much of the novel's humour and emotional intensity. Her narrative voice is bold, unfiltered, and unapologetically honest. She narrates nine chapters, offering a perspective marked by what she calls her 'terrible awful' brand of justice.

Characterization and resilience:

Minny's defining trait is her refusal to be silenced. Her 'sassy' demeanour and sharp tongue frequently get her into trouble with white employers, yet she cannot seem to restrain her honest reactions to injustice and hypocrisy. Her famous use of vernacular, including her explosive 'Law!' demonstrates her authentic voice and rejection of deferential behaviour.

Despite facing domestic violence from her husband Leroy and constant job insecurity, Minny displays remarkable resilience. She endures pregnancy complications, physical abuse, and the constant fear of unemployment, yet maintains her dignity and fighting spirit. This combination of vulnerability and strength makes her one of the novel's most compelling characters.

The 'terrible awful' revenge:

Minny's secret - the chocolate pie incident with Hilly Holbrook - represents an act of defiant resistance. By baking a pie containing her own excrement and serving it to Hilly after being unjustly fired, Minny takes revenge in a way that Hilly cannot publicize without humiliating herself. This secret becomes a form of protection, ensuring Hilly's silence about the book project. Whilst shocking, the incident symbolizes the powerlessness of domestic workers and their need to find covert ways to assert their humanity.

Embodying maids' agency:

Through Minny, Stockett explores how marginalized people find ways to resist oppression even when direct confrontation is impossible. Minny's friendship with Celia Foote, built on genuine mutual respect, offers a contrasting vision of what relationships between white and Black women might look like outside the rigid hierarchies of Jackson society. Her eventual decision to leave Leroy demonstrates personal growth and self-advocacy.

Key supporting characters

Hilly Holbrook

Hilly Holbrook functions as the novel's primary antagonist, embodying the most virulent forms of racism and classism in 1960s Jackson. As a prominent socialite and president of the Junior League, Hilly wields considerable social power, which she uses to enforce segregation and maintain racial hierarchies.

The villainous archetype:

Hilly represents the villainous archetype, a character whose prejudice drives the novel's central conflict. Her Home Help Sanitation Initiative, which proposes mandatory separate toilets for Black domestic workers, exemplifies her belief that Black people carry disease and contamination. This proposal reveals the pseudoscientific racism that underpinned segregation - the false notion that Black people posed a biological threat to white people.

Her characterization demonstrates how racism functions not only through hatred but through the enforcement of social codes and etiquette. Hilly polices other white women's behaviour, punishing those who step out of line. When Celia Foote attempts to join her social circle, Hilly's rejection is swift and cruel, showing that her power extends beyond race to class distinctions as well.

The enforcement of Jim Crow:

Jim Crow etiquette - the unwritten social rules that enforced racial segregation - finds its most zealous enforcer in Hilly. She ensures that domestic workers use separate bathrooms, eat from separate dishes, and maintain appropriate 'distance' from white families. Her pregnancy and subsequent bankruptcy add ironic dimensions to her character, suggesting that karma ultimately catches up with her bigotry.

The novel's climax, when Hilly reads the book containing thinly veiled stories about herself, provides poetic justice. Her power to harm the maids is neutralized by Minny's terrible secret, forcing her into silence.

Celia Foote

Celia Foote stands apart from Jackson's white social elite as an outsider figure. Married to Johnny Foote, a man from an established Jackson family, Celia comes from a poor, rural background and desperately seeks acceptance into Hilly's social circle.

Cross-class kindness:

Celia's character challenges class boundaries and demonstrates that genuine friendship between white and Black women is possible when power dynamics are dismantled. Her relationship with Minny evolves from employer-employee to something approaching true friendship. Celia's naivety about racial etiquette - she doesn't understand why Minny cannot eat at the table with her - initially seems ignorant but actually reflects her lack of indoctrination into Jackson's racist social codes.

Her experience with miscarriages creates a bond with Minny, who helps her through a medical crisis. This shared vulnerability allows both women to see each other as complete human beings rather than fitting into prescribed social roles. The famous pie incident that integrates Celia into the narrative becomes a moment of liberation for both women.

Vulnerability and growth:

Celia's curvaceous figure and blonde appearance make her the object of other women's jealousy and suspicion. She struggles with self-worth, partly due to her exclusion from Jackson society and partly due to her reproductive difficulties. Her character arc involves finding confidence not through social acceptance but through genuine human connection with Minny.

Elizabeth Leefolt

Elizabeth Leefolt, Skeeter's childhood friend, represents the performative nature of white motherhood in the segregated South. Her neglectful treatment of her daughter Mae Mobley, contrasted with Aibileen's loving care, exposes the hypocrisy of a system that claimed white women were naturally suited to domestic and maternal roles.

Failed motherhood:

Elizabeth's character reveals how white privilege and segregation actually undermined white women's maternal relationships. By outsourcing childcare to Black domestic workers, white mothers like Elizabeth could maintain social status without developing genuine nurturing skills. Her discomfort with Mae Mobley's neediness and her quick resort to physical punishment demonstrate her inadequacy as a mother.

Elizabeth functions as Hilly's puppet, enforcing segregation not out of personal conviction but out of fear of social disapproval. When Hilly pressures her to build a separate toilet for Aibileen, Elizabeth complies despite the financial strain. This acquiescence demonstrates how racist systems perpetuate through social pressure and conformity rather than individual hatred alone.

Class anxiety:

Elizabeth's modest financial circumstances make her vulnerable to Hilly's influence. She cannot afford to lose Hilly's approval, as this would mean social ostracism. Her eventual firing of Aibileen, based on Hilly's false accusations of theft, shows her willingness to sacrifice a loyal employee to maintain her social position.

Charlotte Phelan

Skeeter's mother, Charlotte Phelan, embodies the contradictions of white Southern womanhood. On one hand, she pressures Skeeter to conform to traditional expectations of marriage and domesticity. On the other hand, her own illness and vulnerability reveal her capacity for growth and change.

Maternal pressure and hypocrisy:

Charlotte initially appears primarily concerned with Skeeter's marital prospects, constantly pressuring her daughter to be more feminine and appealing to men. Her disapproval of Skeeter's career ambitions reflects the limited roles available to women in 1960s Mississippi, even privileged white women. Charlotte's own life, defined by her husband's success and her social standing, demonstrates the constraints she has internalized.

The revelation that Charlotte fired Constantine, Skeeter's beloved childhood maid, exposes her complicity in racial injustice. When Constantine's light-skinned daughter visited and Charlotte felt pressured to maintain appearances for white guests, she forced Constantine to choose between her daughter and her job. This betrayal reveals how even personal affection between white and Black people could not overcome the demands of white supremacy.

Potential for change:

Despite her faults, Charlotte shows some capacity for recognition of her mistakes. Her illness humanizes her and creates opportunities for more honest conversations with Skeeter. Whilst she never fully rejects racist ideology, her firing of Constantine clearly haunts her, suggesting at least some awareness of moral wrongdoing.

Constantine Bates

Although Constantine never appears directly in the narrative (having departed before the novel's main events), her presence shapes Skeeter's development profoundly. Constantine worked for the Phelan family and served as Skeeter's surrogate mother, providing the emotional support and guidance that Charlotte could not or would not give.

The surrogate mother figure:

Constantine's role in Skeeter's life demonstrates both the genuine affection possible in these relationships and the fundamental injustice of a system that required Black women to mother white children whilst their own children often received less attention. Her departure from the Phelan household - actually a dismissal orchestrated by Charlotte - represents a betrayal that Skeeter must eventually confront.

The story of Constantine's light-skinned daughter and Charlotte's decision to fire Constantine during a social gathering exposes how racial anxieties about 'passing' and white supremacy destroyed relationships even between people who cared for one another. Constantine's move to Chicago and her subsequent death before Skeeter can reconcile with her adds tragic weight to Skeeter's journey.

Symbol of white betrayal:

Constantine's story functions as a microcosm of the novel's larger themes. White families benefited from Black domestic workers' labour and emotional investment, yet these same families would sacrifice these workers whenever maintaining white supremacy required it. The Rachel subplot (Constantine's daughter who could pass as white) further complicates issues of racial identity and belonging.

Character relationships and dynamics

Cross-racial friendships

The novel explores whether genuine friendship can exist across racial lines within a segregated, hierarchical society. The developing relationship between Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny through the book project tests this possibility. Whilst their collaboration involves mutual risk and leads to mutual respect, the novel does not pretend that their relationships are equal. Skeeter's privilege protects her in ways that Aibileen and Minny can never enjoy.

Celia and Minny's relationship offers another model, one based more on mutual vulnerability than on shared political purpose. The novel suggests that whilst individual friendships across racial lines are possible, they cannot substitute for systemic change.

The perpetuation of racism

Through characters like Hilly and Elizabeth, Stockett demonstrates how racist systems maintain themselves through social pressure, fear, and self-interest. Hilly's power comes not primarily from personal hatred (though she has plenty of that) but from her ability to enforce conformity. Elizabeth goes along with segregation not out of conviction but out of fear of social consequences.

This observation is crucial for understanding how oppression functions. Racist systems do not require every individual to hold deeply bigoted beliefs; they require only that most people comply with unjust rules to avoid personal cost. The novel thus becomes a meditation on complicity and moral courage.

Maternal relationships

The novel repeatedly examines motherhood and maternal relationships, both biological and surrogate. Aibileen mothers Mae Mobley whilst mourning her own son. Constantine mothered Skeeter whilst being separated from her own daughter. These patterns reveal how domestic work fragmented Black families whilst supposedly supporting white family life.

The contrast between nurturing Black domestic workers and neglectful white mothers (Elizabeth with Mae Mobley, Charlotte with Skeeter) challenges the racist assumption that white women were inherently superior mothers. Instead, the novel suggests that structural factors - time, resources, emotional capacity - shape maternal relationships far more than race does.

Exam tips for character analysis

For essays on individual characters:

• Examine how the character develops across the novel, noting specific moments of change
• Consider the character's narrative voice if they are a narrator (Skeeter, Aibileen, Minny)
• Analyze the character's relationships and how these reveal their values and growth
• Link the character to broader themes such as racism, class, gender roles, and resistance
• Use specific textual evidence, including memorable phrases and key scenes

For comparative character analysis:

• Compare how different characters respond to injustice (active resistance vs. compliance vs. enforcement)
• Examine contrasts between characters of different races or classes
• Consider how characters' backgrounds shape their perspectives
• Analyze how relationships between characters reveal power dynamics

Key quotations to remember:

• Aibileen's affirmation: 'You is kind. You is smart. You is important'
• References to the 'terrible awful' and its significance
• Descriptions of Jim Crow etiquette and segregation
• Characters' reflections on fear and courage

Understanding character function:

• Consider why Stockett created each character and what they represent thematically
• Analyze whether characters are realistic individuals or primarily symbolic figures
• Examine the controversy around the white savior archetype and be prepared to discuss it critically
• Understand how multiple narrators create a more complete picture of Jackson society