The Help - Characters & Cast

Initially, her motivation is to become a serious writer and to find out what happened to her beloved childhood maid, Constantine. This evolves into a deeper moral conviction to expose the injustices faced by the Black maids in her community.

Skeeter begins as a well-meaning but naive recent college graduate who feels like an outsider in her own high-society world. Her journey is one of awakening; motivated by her love for her former maid, Constantine, and her disgust with her friends' racism, she transforms from a passive observer into an active agent of change. By challenging the status quo and risking her social standing and safety, she finds her purpose as a writer and sheds the prejudiced worldview of her upbringing, ultimately leaving Jackson to pursue her career.

Her primary motivation is to create a better future and to tell the truth, not just for herself but for the next generation, embodied in Mae Mobley, whom she tries to instill with self-worth. The death of her son fuels her desire to see a change in the world.

Aibileen starts as a quiet, grief-stricken, and cautious maid who has raised 17 white children. The death of her own son has planted a "bitter seed" of resentment against the injustices she endures. Her decision to speak to Skeeter is a monumental act of courage that unlocks her suppressed voice. Throughout the process, she transitions from a fearful participant to a leader who inspires other maids to join. By the end, after being unjustly fired, she finds freedom from servitude and embraces a new future as a writer, having passed on her wisdom and strength to Mae Mobley.

Minny is motivated by a fierce desire to provide for her children and protect them from the world's injustices. Her initial participation in the book is driven by anger and a need for revenge, but it evolves into a genuine desire to effect change and secure her family's future.

Minny is introduced as a notoriously outspoken and defiant maid who can't hold a job due to her sharp tongue. While brave in confronting her white employers, she is a victim of domestic abuse at home. Her arc involves learning to trust, particularly through her unexpected friendship with her new employer, Celia Foote. Participating in the book gives her a new sense of power and purpose. Ultimately, emboldened by her secure job with Celia and her role in the book's success, she finds the strength to leave her abusive husband, achieving personal liberation alongside the collective one.

Hilly is motivated by a desperate need to maintain the existing social and racial hierarchy, which is the source of her power and identity. She is driven by prejudice, a fear of change, and a desire for absolute control over her social circle and community.

Hilly is a static character who serves as the primary villain. She is the queen bee of Jackson's social scene and a staunch segregationist who wields her social power to enforce racist norms and punish anyone who defies her. She remains fundamentally unchanged throughout the film, doubling down on her hateful ideology even as her world begins to crumble. Her arc is one of downfall, as she is publicly and privately humiliated by the pie incident and the publication of the book, ultimately becoming trapped in a web of her own lies.