![]() ![]() Hilly is not capable of understanding that this desire is rooted in a racist paternalism that infantilizes black people as completely helpless, adding further irony to the fact that the black domestic workers are actually the ones “helping” their white employers. She even takes the moral high ground by raising funds to “help” needy children in Africa, but this is actually a false generosity meant to raise her class status as a charitable woman. Miss Hilly believes that her bathroom bill and Jim Crow segregation laws actually “help” black people. This irrational and absurd system in which poor black people “help” the rich whites gives way to widespread hypocrisy in white society. The white women refuse to even consider that they could be the ones “helping” the maids by promoting civil rights in white communities. By referring to these women as “the help,” the white housewives uphold the illusion that the maids are like volunteers who want-or should be grateful for the opportunity-to work for less than minimum wage, and for families that treat them as subhuman. “Help” normally signifies the giving of free services or resources to those in need, but the novel’s title refers directly to the underpaid black domestic workers who, paradoxically, are the ones “helping” their wealthier and more powerful employers, people who have no real need of help. ![]()
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