Racial Discrimination, Gender Stereotypes, and Historical Contexts in Kathryn Stockett’s The Help Diplomarbeit Zur Erlangung des Magistergrades Mag.phil. an der Kultur- und Gesellschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Paris-Lodron-Universität Salzburg Eingereicht von CAROLIN ELISABETH STALLINGER Gutachterin: Ao.Univ.-Prof. Dr. Hanna Wallinger Fachbereich: Anglistik und Amerikanistik Salzburg, März 2018 Eidesstaatliche Erklärung Ich erkläre hiermit eidesstattlich [durch meine eigenhändige Unterschrift], dass ich die vorliegende Arbeit selbständig verfasst und keine anderen als die angegebenen Quellen und Hilfsmittel verwendet habe. Alle Stellen, die wörtlich oder inhaltlich den angegebenen Quellen entnommen wurden, sind als solche kenntlich gemacht. Die vorliegende Arbeit wurde bisher in gleicher oder ähnlicher Form noch nicht als Bachelor-/ Master-/ Diplomarbeit/ Dissertation eingereicht. _________________________________ Datum, Unterschrift Acknowledgements I would like to use this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor Ao. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Hanna Wallinger for her invaluable advice and insightful contributions as well as her continuous support of my diploma thesis and the related research. Furthermore, I would like to extend my thanks to my friends and fellow students at the University of Salzburg, especially to Anna Griesacker and Maria Schreiner. Their loyalty and encouragement have kept me in good spirits throughout my whole studies and the writing process of this thesis in particular. Finally, I would like to give my thanks to my family, most importantly my parents and my sister. Without them, this journey would not have been possible and I am truly grateful for their unconditional love and constant support. CONTENTS Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 1 Historical Contexts .................................................................................................. 4 1.1 Racial Segregation in the South: The Jim Crow Era ........................................ 5 1.2 Domestic Servants ............................................................................................ 8 2 The Help ................................................................................................................ 11 2.1 The Mammy Figure: The White Children’s Black Mother ............................ 12 2.1.1 Contexts ................................................................................................... 12 2.1.2 Dedication to White Children ................................................................. 17 2.1.2.1 Black Children ...................................................................................... 19 2.1.2.2 Aibileen and Mae Mobley .................................................................... 23 2.1.2.3 Minny and Celia Foote ......................................................................... 26 2.1.2.4 Constantine and Skeeter ....................................................................... 28 2.1.3 Giving Up Mammy and Becoming White .............................................. 30 2.2 The White Home: A Space of Integration in the Segregated South ............... 34 2.2.1 The Kitchen ............................................................................................. 36 2.2.2 The Relationship Between the White Housewife and the Black Help .... 38 2.2.3 The Subtle Power of the White Lady ...................................................... 43 2.2.4 Hilly’s Home Help Sanitation Initiative .................................................. 44 3 Criticism ................................................................................................................ 48 3.1 Defense of Whiteness ..................................................................................... 50 3.1.1 Writing Black for a White Audience ....................................................... 51 3.1.2 Romanticizing the Past ............................................................................ 54 3.1.3 Making Use of Stereotypes ..................................................................... 58 3.2 Autobiographical Aspects .............................................................................. 62 3.2.1 Skeeter as Kathryn Stockett .................................................................... 63 3.2.2 Demetrie and Kathryn Stockett ............................................................... 65 3.3 Stolen Stories .................................................................................................. 68 3.3.1 Kathryn Stockett’s Stolen Story .............................................................. 68 3.3.2 Skeeter’s Exploitation of the Maids ........................................................ 71 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 81 Bibliography ................................................................................................................ 83 Introduction The Help is set in the early 1960s in the segregated South in Jackson, Mississippi. Skeeter has just returned from university and is determined to realize her dream of becoming a writer. Nevertheless, she struggles to find a job and, thus, takes on the Miss Myrna column of the local newspaper, where readers ask for household tips. Skeeter, however, has no idea about household duties and misses her former mammy Constantine, who has disappeared mysteriously. Therefore, she asks her friend’s maid, Aibileen, for advice. At first, the two women only have a superficial conversation about how to maintain a household. Over the course of time, though, Skeeter becomes more and more aware of her friends’ racist attitude and the disrespectful way they treat their employees. When Hilly presents them her new project, the Home Help Sanitation Initiative, and requests that white employers build a separate bathroom for their colored help because of the dangerous black germs they carry in the urine, Skeeter decides that it is time for a change. She starts interviewing Aibileen about her work as a maid in white families and, thus, breaks with the conventions of that time. Her idea is to publish a book about how it feels for black maids to work for white families. First, Aibileen’s friend, Minny, agrees to help them and soon, other maids share their experiences with Skeeter. Hence, the novel emphasizes the collaboration of white and black women despite the separation of races in the segregated South. The Help was published by Kathryn Stockett in 2009. It immediately became a bestseller and, therefore, in, 2011, a film adaption was released, written and directed by Tate Taylor. Nevertheless, The Help also received a great range of negative criticism. Many critics claim that the novel, written by a white, female author, makes use of stereotypes of black as well as white characters and defends the white protagonists. They argue that it is not historically reflective but mirrors Stockett’s own experience by including autobiographical aspects. However, upon closer examination, one can detect that the novel does not side with the white characters, but rather addresses their racist behavior. In addition, from the point of view of genre, it is important to keep in mind that The Help is a piece of fiction and not a history book. Furthermore, a careful analysis of historical contexts and the concept of intersectionality are essential to judge this criticism. Therefore, this thesis will prove 1 that when one reads the novel through the lens of race, gender, and historical contexts, it turns out that it is more complex than it appears to be. The first point of criticism is that The Help is not historically reflective and sugarcoats the painful past black people had to endure. Thus, it is important to provide background knowledge about the Jim Crow era and the situation of domestic servants in the South at that time. Black people had to experience racism in their everyday lives and endure racist treatment even at their workplace. The situation for black women was especially difficult as they had no career prospects and worked mainly as maids in white homes. Consequently, information on the concept of racial segregation through the Jim Crow laws and the division of society will be given in the first chapter. Furthermore, critics claim that Stockett mocks black life by making use of stereotypes. The mammy figure in particular raises concern as she is described as a black woman who loves the white children she takes care of more than her own and sacrifices herself for the white family. Hence, it is necessary to conduct a close examination of the appearance as well as the characteristics to determine if Aibileen and Minny as well as Skeeter’s mammy Constantine correspond to this stereotypical portrayal. Moreover, the mammies’ relationships with their white charges as well as the process of giving up mammy and accepting the white norms as a striking step in the transformation of the white children into white adults are important components of this stereotype. Besides, this thesis will analyze the role of the white home as a space of integration for both races as it unites the white lady and the black help despite their usual separation in society. Also the working conditions, the white ladies’ treatment of the maids as well as their relationships are noteworthy as critics claim they are romanticized. Therefore,