Kent 1 Caroline Kent Dr.

Erin Dietel-McLaughlin 13200 05 Community Based Writing and Rhetoric 7 October 2011 The Violent Women of The Help and Their Secret Weapons Perhaps one of the most violent times in United States History was the period leading up to and through the Civil Rights Movement. One of the major African American leaders, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., firmly believed in methods of nonviolence, which led to many boycotts, sit-ins, and marches. Despite these effrots, the deep-rooted feelings of discrimination were too strong and led to many race riots, especially in the South. The common conception of violence during this time is focused on protestors, rioters, and in extreme cases the Ku Klux Klan. Certainly pictures of physical beatings, burnings and hangings come to mind. However, it is essential to remember that violence takes on many forms, physical, mental and emotional. Harold Schecuter gives a much broader view of violence in his book Savage Pastimes: A Cultural History of Violent Entertainment when he describes violence as the intent to injure another person (154), which can encompass aggression, exclusion and a myriad of other acts causing psychological damage. In her novel The Help, Kathryn Stockett offers readers a glimpse into an often forgotten form of violence, especially during this turbulent time period, involving none other than women. The Help is a novel about the complex relationships between upper class white families and their African American maids in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi. Skeeter Phelan is a recent college graduate and aspiring writer who develops a real concern for how the maids are treated in Jackson and is curious to their actual opinions about their jobs. Unlike her very traditional,

Kent 2 classist, racist and married friends Hilly Holbrook and Elizabeth Leefolt, Skeeter sees the maids as real people with stories to tell. Skeeter decides to compile narratives from the help throughout Jackson so as to give them the voice that 1962 Southern society had stifled. James Herrick, author of The History and Theory of Rhetoric, would applaud Skeeter, for he believes that Rhetoric gives our private ideas a public voice (17). Skeeter holds in firm conviction that societys attitudes toward the help must change and decides that these true and honest testimonies will be the most persuasive way. At first glance, most would believe that this novel does not seem particularly violent, especially in the sense of physical violence. However, one must not neglect the often overlooked forms of violence that cause mental and emotional harm. In The Help, the causes of violence, namely a desire to maintain order, and feelings of shame and the means by which it is carried out are consistent with contemporary theories of violence, especially for women. Upon closer examination of the novel, one will discover that the violence portrayed by the women is just as destructive as the physical violence often associated with this time period. One of the primary reasons for violence is to maintain order. In fact, Walter Wink claims that Order is established by means of disorder, that violence is the necessary means by which the status quo is achieved. The 1962 Jackson social structure based on class, race and gender is on the precipice of being demolished by the Civil Rights Movement and those that are trying to preserve it are resorting to violence. As Minny (who works for Hillys mother) warns her daughter before her first day of work as a maid, You sass a white woman in the morning, youll be sassing out on the street in the afternoon (46). There are certain rules that must be followed in accordance with the norms of society or violence will inevitably ensue. During this time, it is acceptable for white women to make unreasonable demands, force their help to work under

Kent 3 substandard conditions and treat their employees in degrading ways. It is a time when white women expect their help to raise their most precious children but do not have the decency to allow them to use the bathrooms inside their homes, for fear of diseases. Under no circumstances could an African American maid speak up for herself or demand the respect she deserves by virtue of being human. The upper class white women are willing to impose any measure psychological damage on their help in order to uphold the firm boundaries of class and race, as seen by the following example. Constantine worked for the Phelan family since Mr. Phelan was a boy. She had a daughter, Lulabelle, who was so fair-skinned that Constantine was forced to give her to an orphanage. As a grown woman, Lulabelle comes to visit Constantine on the same day Mrs. Phelan is hosting ninety-five Daughters of the American Revolution members in her home. Lulabelle attends the luncheon as if she were a white woman. When Lulabelle reveals to Mrs. Phelan who she is, Mrs. Phelan discretely demands that she leave. Although Lulabelle looks as white as any other woman at the luncheon, Mrs. Phelan is deeply committed to the rules of society about socializing with other races. Lulabelle refuses to leave and proceeds to spit in her face, an act that so fiercely violates the acceptable codes of behavior of class and race. Mrs. Phelan, adamant to maintain order, insults Lulabelle in the most detrimental way, telling her that her mother did not want her as a child because she was so light-skinned. Adding insult to injury, she demands that Lulabelle leave the house out the back door, the servants door. When Constantine leaves with Lulabelle, Mrs. Phelan fires Constantine after, years of loyal service, to avoid further disgrace. All too often, preserving order is held in higher esteem than human dignity and respect, which leads to further violence.

Kent 4 Shame, another root causes of violence, ultimately stems from a lack of respect. This disrespect can be external, if one feels violated by others or internal if one lacks self-respect or self-esteem, both of which are seen abundantly throughout the novel. External shame often comes from class distinctions or employer and employee relationships. For example, when Hilly fires her mothers maid, Minny, she tells every white woman in Jackson that Minny is a thief. This rumor not only hurts Minnys pride, but also diminishes any chance of her being hired again. Minny reacts by bringing Hilly a chocolate pie, which she reveals is actually made of feces after Hilly has had two large slices. Minny was shamed by Hilly and Minnys violent actions against her brought Hilly her own humiliation. The utter mortification that Hilly feels fuels her own violent behavior and the vicious cycle continues. External shame is also seen between women of the same class, such as between Skeeter and Hilly. Fed up with being bossed around and threatened by Hilly, Skeeter purposefully misprints an add for the Jackson League Newspaper, encouraging people to drop off toilets in Hillys front yard, instead of coats. Outraged and completely embarrassed when her lawn is covered in toilets, Hillys violent behavior toward others escalates. She uses her authority in the League to convince everyone that Skeeter is a no-good, conniving woman who should not be tolerated at meetings. Skeeter is greeted at the next meeting by looks of contempt from all the other members and is completely ignored when she tries to speak. A shamed Hilly Holbrook is a dangerous woman because of her power and authority over other women and her desire for revenge. Meanwhile, as previously stated, shame can also arise from within due to a lack of selfesteem. Elizabeth Leefolt is always trying to cover up the imperfections in her life, whether she is hiding the crack in her dining room table with a tablecloth or trying to conceal her lack of

Kent 5 money by sewing her own dresses to look like expensive, store-bought ones. Her self-esteem comes from comparing her life to her friends lives and she always falls short. Since her house is not as grand and her daughter not as beautiful, Elizabeth creates her own shame. She neglects her daughter and treats her maid Aibileen with the same disrespect she feels for herself. Whether the source of shame is external or internal, it is a powerful feeling that drives much violent behavior. Some may argue that it is jealousy that elicits the violent behavior of women in the novel. Elizabeth is perhaps the most jealous woman in the novel and she is mostly preoccupied with wanting the life that Hilly lives. It seems as though every woman in the novel is jealous of anothers material possessions, social status or authority. While this is true in some sense, it can ultimately be traced back to shame. After all, as Simmons explains, the feeling of jealousy violates the expectation that they [women] must be both perfect and self-sacrificing (119). When women feel jealous they create their own inner shame, subconsciously chastising themselves for not being perfect. For example, Hilly is jealous of Celia Foote because Celia married the man that Hilly was still in love with. Therefore, Hilly ignores Celia, spreads malicious rumors about her and refuses to let her socialize with other women in Jackson or join the League. Hilly manages to turn everyone against Celia, who is unnecessarily excluded and hurt. As a highly competitive individual, Hilly feels like she lost to Celia. Hilly is humiliated that she was not good enough, not perfect enough for Johnny Foote and with this blow to her selfesteem violence is to be expected. Although there are many different causes for violence, the violent behavior of the women in this novel is exactly as the theories predict. As Simmons notes, society calls women to be feminine, modest, passive, confident and powerful all at the same time (115). She claims the mixed messages that society sends creates this culture of indirection, prompting duplicity and

Kent 6 evasion in girls (116). Do not forget the devilish way Minny deceived Hilly into eating her own feces under the disguise of her famous chocolate pie. Simmons concludes that women must use discrete and covert methods of being violent, including hidden codes so as to conform to the standards of womanhood (119). Skeeters seemingly accidental misprint in the newspaper that led to the toilet scandal was not an outright attack on Hilly, but rather a sneaky assault. The expectation for women to conceal their violence results is women who are violent by manipulation. Women are incredibly skilled at hurting others with their words and sometimes without them. Recall the pain that Mrs. Phelan caused Lulabelle with a single comment about her mother not wanting her. In yet another instance, examine Aibileens thoughts when Elizabeth seems to request for her to clean the bathroom, while implying that she do it immediately or there will be consequences. I dont know what to say to her. All I know is, I aint saying it. And I know she aint saying what she want a say either and its a strange thing happening here cause nobody saying nothing and we still managing to have us a conversation (35). Women do not necessarily need words to participate in severely violent acts. The womens methods, including gossip and exclusion, are sometimes more damaging than a physical beating. Social ostracism is possibly the greatest weapon manipulative women in this novel have in their arsenal. The most highly skilled woman at using this weapon to her advantage is Hilly Holbrook. She threatens to have Skeeter removed from the Jackson League when Skeeter does not want to include Hillys ridiculous plan for the Home Health Sanitation Initiative (a movement for all households to build an outdoor bathroom, specifically for the help) in the Leagues newspaper. Celia Foote is turned down for a volunteer position to help with the annual Benefit for the League simply because Hilly has convinced all the women in Jackson to exclude

Kent 7 her. The abusive ways Hilly controls social circles is a direct result of her attempt to maintain order and deal with her own shame. According to Gilligan, shame is the emotion of revolution (32). Certainly this is the reason why the maids chose to risk their jobs and even their lives to tell their stories to Skeeter. Skeeter and the maids of Jackson, Mississippi are heroes for using a method of nonviolence, in the form of rhetoric, to speak out against injustice. The maids changed their situation in the most effective way possible, exposing the hidden violence of the upper class white women. Some may disagree, claiming that Skeeter and maids such as Minny were just as violent as their employers. It is true that all the women in the novel are guilty of committing at least one small act of violence. However, in choosing a method of nonviolence and seeing its effective results, Skeeter and the maids have a new understanding of the power of nonviolence to solve conflict and thus deserve to be called heroes. Certainly there were famous nonviolent leaders of the Civil Rights Movement such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but at the same time there were many common Americans, women included, who contributed to this great effort of peaceful reform. The racism and segregation of this time period fueled shame and disorder, leading to rampant physical and psychological violence. The effects of escalated violence in a society can be so great that they rock the foundations of its structure and threaten its entire organization. While in many cases it takes extreme violence to cause change, the true revolution comes from the carefully designed and influential acts of nonviolence.

Kent 8 Works Cited Gilligan, James. "Shame and the Death of Self." Preventing Violence. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2001. 29-37. Print. Herrick, James A. "An Overview of Rhetoric." The History and Theory of Rhetoric. 2nd ed. Allynd Bacon, 2001. 1-25. Print. Simmons, Rachel. "She's All That." Odd Girl Out: A Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls. New York: Harcourt, 2002. 103-28. Print. Stockett, Kathryn. The Help. New York, NY: Berkley, 2011. Print. Wink, Walter. "Facing the Myth of Redemptive Violence." Ekklesia. 16 Nov. 2007. Web. 09 Sept. 2011. <http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/cpt/article_060823wink.shtml>.