White Ladies
Miss Walter or Miss Walters (depending on who's talking about her) is Hilly's mother. She's an ambiguous character. She seems at once insane, senile, victim, victimizer, and rebel. She definitely has a soft spot for Minny Jackson, who worked for her for years before Hilly relocates Miss Walter to a nursing home.
What is The Home Help Sanitation Initiative?
Hilly seems to truly believe that black people carry diseases that can harm white people. Apparently these diseases can only be passed through toilet seats, because black hands touch almost every piece of food Hilly eats, every fork her lips touch, and the pillowcases she lays her head on. To prevent the diseases from spreading, she introduces The Home Help Sanitation Initiative.
Can she be considered the novel's most dastardly villain?? She's married to William Holbrook and has two children, Heather and William, Jr. She appears to be totally respectable but is quite racist. She's president of the Jackson Junior League and active in all sorts of charity. Hilly's wants to pass a bill she calls The Home Help Sanitation Initiative.
The young daughter of Elizabeth Leefolt, Mae Mobley loves her maid, Aibileen, more than her actual mother. Due to her mother’s negligence, Mae Mobley lacks self-confidence, but Aibileen tries to instill in her the belief that she is good and valuable. Mae Mobley is too young “see” race—she doesn’t form judgments based on the color of people’s skins—but Aibileen worries that her mother will soon teach her to see black people as inferior to white people.
Elizabeth doesn't seem to realize anything consciously. She comes off as vapid, numb, and petty. She's a follower with few ideas of her own. Far worse, she neglects her daughter Mae Mobley. Her maid is Aibileen.
Describe Aibileen.
Aibileen is 53 years old and her heart's so big, we just might all fit inside it. If you're lucky, she might even write you into her prayers, which are known to be particularly powerful. Her best friend is Minny Jackson. She is a maid in the Leefolt's home, mainly caring for 2 y/o Mae Mobley. Her son, Treelore, died in a work accident.
Celia is an endearing character. Although it takes Minny a long time to realize it, Celia is like no white lady she's ever worked for. In a good way. Celia is a sharp contrast to women like Hilly and Elizabeth. She's a Marilyn-Monroe look-alike who wears tight skimpy clothes, much to the disapproval of the high-society ladies and much to the delight of their husbands. Unlike those ladies, Celia wasn't born into high society. She's from Sugar Ditch, Mississippi, and was born and raised poor. Her marriage to Johnny Foote places her among Jackson's elite all of a sudden, but also right outside that circle. Johnny is Hilly's ex.
Minny Jackson is a 36 year old wise-cracking mother of 5 who refuses to curb her outspoken personality even though it gets her into trouble with her white employers. Quick-tempered and fiery, Minny always has a sharp word or a joke on the tip of her tongue, but her tough, sarcastic exterior hides her vulnerability. In spite of a terrible husband and mean Miss Hilly, Minny remains fiercely determined to provide for children and give them a better life.
Skeeter’s mother, Charlotte is an old-fashioned Southern woman who tries to persuade her daughter to conform to gender norms. Charlotte harbors racist beliefs. She always points out Skeeter's flaws. Does she do it out of love?
What two secrets does Skeeter keep from her mother? How does she cover up those lies?
(What does she tell her mother she's doing during those times)
- She doesn't tell her mother she's going to Aibileen's to interview her. She tells her she's helping out at the church. Her mother wouldn't approve of such a thing and it's illegal.
Skeeter’s childhood maid, Constantine is like a second mother to her, providing love and compassion. Throughout the novel, Skeeter tries to find out what happened to her, eventually learning the truth from Aibileen. Constantine gave her own daughter up for adoption because she was pale-skinned. Constantine's father was white.
2. Don't ever sit on the white lady's toilet.
3. When cooking white people's food, taste with a different spoon.
4. Use the same cup, fork, and plate and keep it in a separate cupboard.
5. Eat in the kitchen.
6. Don't hit the white lady's children.
7. No sass-mouthing.