What is The Help by Kathryn Stockett about?

The Helpis a work of historical fiction set in Jackson, Mississippi, during the years 1962-1964. The time and place are marked by the strong racial divide between white and black people. The Jim Crow laws are still in effect. The American civil rights movement is just beginning. A key juxtaposition lies in the fact that most white households here employ black maids. At its core, this book offers insights in how women from the...

The Help is a work of historical fiction set in Jackson, Mississippi, during the years 1962-1964. The time and place are marked by the strong racial divide between white and black people. The Jim Crow laws are still in effect. The American civil rights movement is just beginning. A key juxtaposition lies in the fact that most white households here employ black maids. At its core, this book offers insights in how women from the two races live and work under such circumstances: together yet separately, and certainly not equally.

The storyline unfolds in chapters told by three characters: Aibileen Clark, Minny Jackson, and Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan. Aibileen and Minny are maids. Skeeter is a young white woman who just graduated from Ole Miss. She grew up in Jackson, but after college sees her hometown with fresh eyes. She’s disturbed by the way her friends treat “the help.” Eventually, she interviews a number of the maids, including Aibileen and Minny, in order to publish a book about the relationships between maids and their employers in an unnamed city in the Deep South. The time is right for people to start talking about such things. By the end of the story, all three main characters have undergone changes in their lives. Aibileen—whose chapters both begin and end this book—may be considered the touchstone character and the one who is the most changed, both emotionally and intellectually. She has a wide-open future ahead of her.

You can also catch glimpses of the women’s rights movement here. Skeeter longs to land a job as a journalist, while all the other women in the Jackson Junior League focus on landing husbands, having children, and managing their households, including the staff. By the end of the 1960s, the ratio of working to stay-at-home women will have begun to change.