As I read The Help, I was reminded of dystopian novels that depict some possible future or alternate reality. The characters are constantly on edge, afraid that if they say or do "the wrong thing", they will lose work, status, or even their lives. Except this novel is not a portrait of an imagined dystopian society, a warning of what might be, à la 1984, but a piece of historical fiction, and a reminder of how things really are.
The main characters of the novel, the eyes through which we experience 1960s Jackson, Mississippi, are Aibileen, a black maid who raises the children of white people while processing the death of her own son; Minny, a black maid who has found it difficult to keep work because of her inability to remain silent in the face of wrongs done by her white employers; and there is Skeeter, a young white woman recently returned from college, trying to figure out her way in the world.
Then, there is Hilly Holbrook, the epitome of racism and cruelty in the book. It is interesting to note that she, a wealthy Jackson socialite, married to a future politician, is motivated by a selfish desire to maintain the status quo. A fear that societal change might tip her own world into disorder. She strives to maintain the divisions between blacks and whites as The Civil Rights Movement makes it's way across the south to protect herself from some imagined threat. Out of the same selfish desire to protect her own interests, she bullies, manipulates, and threatens the white women in her social circle that do not conform to her own views and wants.
Interestingly, Skeeter's mother, another example in The Help of someone deeply flawed and desirous to maintain social and racial divisions also shows a desire for control. She is overbearing and is always critical of her daughter's appearance.
This speaks to the white fear that we might lose all that we have, that societal change might mean a loss of control and wealth, and how we use violence and intimidation, how we justify prejudices and bigotry, to maintain our hold.
There is a danger in reading books like The Help – white readers can come away believing the themes explored within to be problems of the past, that such attitudes are antiquated, and "thank god things aren't like that any more!"
But just a little tumble down some of the darker spots of social media, or sliding down some of the comment threads, is enough to prove those attitudes to be alive and well. Yeah, we might not be able to say it as brazenly as we could in the past, but it's there.
The author herself has spoken about conflicting feelings for the novel and the fears she had about crossing a line, writing in the voice of a black person.
"I don't presume to think that I know what it really felt like to be a black woman in Mississippi, especially in the 1960s. I don't think it is something any white woman on the other end of a black woman's paycheck could ever truly understand. But trying to understand is vital to our humanity."
Much of what can be discussed about this novel feels so beyond the scope of a little book blog . . .
The Help is a masterful novel full of hope and humanity. A novel that reminded me of dystopian settings, but in fact a novel that considers the past. However, not long past. An excellent debut that feels more like the work of a novelist much more experienced.
Kathryn Stockett was born into the world she describes in the novel, in Jackson, Mississippi, 1969. And she, like the white children in the novel, was raised by a black maid. After graduating from Alabama university, she moved to New York and worked in magazine publishing and marketing for nine years. The Help is her first novel, inspired partly by the place she came from.
You can purchase a copy of The Help by Kathryn Stockett here.
Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this piece, or found it informative, I ask that you please consider buying the author a coffee here.
If you can't do that, you can show support with a like, a comment, a share, and a subscription. If we support writing on the internet that we really enjoy, we might just end up with more than just adverts disguised as articles and other clickbait!
No comments:
Post a Comment