The Help

seems quiet. Skeeter calls Miss Stein to tell her she will be mailing the manuscript after the New Year, but learns she needs to submit it by December 21 if she wants the manuscript to be considered. Miss Stein also tells Skeeter to include a section about her own maid growing up. Not only has the deadline been shortened, but Skeeter also must work on additional material. With the deadline approach in two and a half weeks, Aibileen agrees to write down what happened to Constantine so that Skeeter can include it in the book. In the meantime, Skeeter worries about her mother, whose ulcers are growing continually worse; she seems to be losing weight daily and vomits often. Adding to Skeeter’s troubles is the way her friends constantly avoid her now. Everyone has taken Hilly’s side after the toilet incident, so Skeeter is no longer invited to social events, and even Elizabeth is embarrassed to speak to her. At the next League meeting, Skeeter is stripped of her role as newsletter editor and replaced by Hilly.

After the League meeting, Skeeter considers her life, and how ostracized she’s become. She doubts she will be able to get the manuscript in before the deadline, all her friends hate her, Stuart is gone, and her mother is so sick, she knows it’s more than just ulcers. However, Skeeter feels a small sense of relief when she hears Bob Dylan sing on the radio, “For the times they are a-changin’” (352). In this moment, she’s able to focus on the future, rather than her current circumstances.

When Skeeter gets home, Stuart is waiting for her on the porch. He drove to San Francisco to see Patricia and knows his feelings for his ex-girlfriend are finally gone. However, Skeeter feels she can’t open herself up to being hurt by him again. She throws herself into working on the manuscript day and night. Only 10 days remain before it needs to be mailed. She works on a title with Aibileen and Minny, and Aibileen suggests Help, a title they all agree upon. Stuart continues to come by from time to time; sometimes Skeeter takes a few minutes to see him, and sometimes she does not. Skeeter’s mother surprises her by taking her side. She says, “If Stuart doesn’t know how intelligent and kind I raised you to be, he can march straight on back to State Street” (357). These words of encouragement give Skeeter the gumption she needs to continue working on the book.

Aibileen finishes writing down what happened between Constantine and Skeeter’s mother but explains some background information about Constantine first. Constantine gave her white daughter Lulabelle up to an orphanage when she was just four years old. She regretted giving her up, and tried to get her back a few years later, but by that time, Lulabelle had been adopted. A couple of years ago, Constantine heard from Lulabelle, who was now 25; she wanted to come and see Constantine. Constantine was excited, yet nervous that her daughter would be angry with her. Aibileen sends Skeeter home with a written account of what happened when Lulabelle came to Jackson.

After reading Aibileen’s telling of events, Skeeter wants to hear her mother’s side of the story, and she confronts her mother about it. Lulabelle showed up at the Phelan house while Skeeter’s mother was hosting the entire DAR chapter. She looked white, so the ladies didn’t think anything of it when she helped herself to cake and asked about becoming a member. However, when Mrs. Phelan learned she was Constantine’s daughter, she asked Lulabelle to leave, telling her to use the back door. In retaliation, Lulabelle spit in Mrs. Phelan’s face. Outraged, Skeeter’s mother told Constantine that she could not allow Lulabelle to stay with her, and that Lulabelle needed to leave Jackson altogether. Upon hearing that Lulabelle was under the impression that her father died when she was young and Constantine was too sick to take care of her, Mrs. Phelan hit Lulabelle and Constantine where it would hurt the most. She told Lulabelle that her daddy left when she was born, and that Constantine “gave you up because you were too high yellow. She didn’t want you” (364). Instead of sending her daughter away like Mrs. Phelan wanted her to, Constantine left and went back to Chicago with Lulabelle. Constantine died after being there for only three weeks.

Skeeter is sickened by her mother’s actions and understands why Aibileen didn’t want to tell her what happened. Skeeter decides she will tell Constantine’s life story in the book and explain how she raised Skeeter, but she will leave her mother’s cruelty out of it. After days and nights of constant work, the manuscript is finally finished, and it looks like they will make the deadline. Seeing all the pages stacked up at Aibileen’s house, the reality of the dangers they face becomes palpable. Minny decides that they need to include the Terrible Awful in the book as insurance; she knows Hilly will go to her grave trying to keep people from associating her with the pie story, and therefore convince everyone that the book can’t be about Jackson. Skeeter is scared to put the pie story in but knows that Minny is right—it’s their best insurance. She works all night on adding the story to Minny’s chapter, the final chapter of the book, and the manuscript goes out in the post one day later than they planned. When Skeeter calls Elaine Stein to tell her it’s on the way, Miss Stein says Skeeter shouldn’t get her hopes up; it’s unlikely the book will be received and read before the holiday break.