Having just finished the novel, I have to say, I can't stand Hilly. From the beginning, my opinion of Hilly wasn't that high, and as the book continued it just came to the point of not wanting anything to do with her. I loved watching Skeeter's eyes open up to the behaviors around her and fighting to become free of it all by moving to New York. Like Katie, in my mind she succeeded in New York and met the right man for her. I sorta hoped things would change for her and Stuart, but based on his family's political ambitions I had a feeling it wouldn't.
It's very hard for me to not have a level of contempt for the way women treated their help. Perhaps it's because we live in a different world than the 60s at this point. Or, perhaps it was because my parents raised me with the mentality that it doesn't matter what someone looks like. Which is something that I really loved with Aibileen and Mae Mobley. I loved the secret stories they had together and how Aibileen did her best to make sure Mae knew she was loved and a good girl despite what Elizabeth kept telling her.
Out of all the women, Minny seemed to do the most growth. She's hard as nails but watching her with Celia and seeing everything she was going through at home, I wanted her to have something good come her way. Finally getting away from Leroy made me really happy for her. Plus, I have to admit, I really liked that Celia refused to see "the lines" between them and kept treating Minny like a person. Johnny and Celia telling Minny she'll always have a job with them was the best. I already liked Johnny once we met him, but I loved him even more by the end. He wasn't there a lot, but the little actions he did toward his wife and Minny made me want to see more of him. If Hilly did call them, I imagine he and Celia would tell her to go eat a PIE :-D
I really enjoyed the book and messages in it. That there were good stories about some of the employers were great, showing not all of them were horrible people. Oh, and I have to say I loved Hilly's mom for buying that pie in Hilly's name, LOL.
Thanks for the great read, Katie! :-D
Lol, the part with Hilly's mom buying the cake made me laugh, it was so funny! And they put it in the movie as well, which was just as hilarious!
ReplyDeleteI loathed Hilly as well and I just can't wrap my head around how people treated black people in the 60s. It was just horrible. I like to think that things have changed, and they have, but there are still those who hate others simply for the color of their skin.