At the beginning of the novel, Aibileen is a bitter woman. Her only son has died in a workplace accident at a lumber mill. (In the movie version of this story, his accident has a more clearly-defined race-related element.) She acquiesces enough to the cultural divide in Jackson to get a job as a maid for the Leefolt household. She maintains a respectable distance when dealing with her white employers however, even though she would...
At the beginning of the novel, Aibileen is a bitter woman. Her only son has died in a workplace accident at a lumber mill. (In the movie version of this story, his accident has a more clearly-defined race-related element.) She acquiesces enough to the cultural divide in Jackson to get a job as a maid for the Leefolt household. She maintains a respectable distance when dealing with her white employers however, even though she would love to tell Elizabeth what she thinks of her parenting skills – and lack of them. She’s very fond of baby Mae Mobley, and she’s very devoted to her church. Aibileen writes her prayers every night in her journal.
When Skeeter needs help writing the Miss Myrna column for the local newspaper, she asks Aibileen for advice to answer the housekeeping questions. They begin to meet – first at the Leefolt house, and then at Aibileen’s house. She had never had a white person in her home before. She eventually begins to get comfortable confiding in Skeeter, as they expand their meetings to include working on a book about the black maids of Jackson. Aibileen is very pleased with the results of the book that they compile and get published. By the last chapter in the book, Aibileen feels confident enough to tell off Hilly Holbrook to her face. She vows to keep on writing, even though she has now lost her job because of Hilly’s undue influence on Elizabeth. Aibileen has grown in terms of respect, confidence, and feelings of self-worth.
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