The Deconstruction of Feminism：Analysis of the Disintegration in Identity of both the White and Black Female in The Help

Abstract： Feminists raise the voice of equality with the male and blast away at life patterns of male dominance. But in the early 1960s， although the civil right movement and the second wave of American feminism were being on their ways， women were still under the oppression of men and meanwhile women of color were suffering from racial discrimination by the native people. The Help by Kathryn Stockett is the right novel that reveals the life situation of women， especially black women in the shadow of sexism and racism. In the text， theories of deconstruction which focuses on unbalance between binary oppositions and disintegration of characters will be applied to analyze the identity of both the white and the black female.

Key words： deconstruction； feminism； sexism and racism； identity of the female

中圖分類號：I02 文獻(xiàn)標(biāo)識碼：A 文章編號：1674-3520（2014）-09-00-03

Introduction

The term “deconstruction” was first put forward by Jacques Derrida in 1966， a French philosopher and teacher. It receives theories of literary criticism from structuralism represented by Roland Barthes， a French scholar， and states that the form of thought of human beings is based on binary oppositions and relativity of things， and importantly focuses on how the other is inferior to one in two oppositions. The theory of deconstruction weakens and disintegrates the balance and equality between gender， races， classes and culture， and is helpful to depict women’s life situation and the so-called “feminism” in 1960s.

Till now， there has happened two waves of American feminism： the first wave began in the 1840s and is commonly marked by the first Women’s Rights Convention， and had culminated in female suffrage in 1920； the second wave “emerged in the early 1960s and focus upon an indictment of male sexism and the domestic oppression of women. … Feminist attention was focused on the exclusion of women from the public sphere and sex-based discrimination in the workplace.” （Deborah L. Madsen： 7） To sum up， Feminism paid much attention to the dilemma and awkwardness of women’s identity in society and family where the female suffered from discrimination and oppression in terms of politics， economics， morality， culture， psychology and physiology， etc.

What has been mentioned is that deconstruction can be took good advantage of to explain this dilemma， so this paper will be aimed at analyzing the deconstruction or disintegration of self-identity of female characters in The Help oppressed by the male or “double consciousness --- the oppression of the individual both as a woman and as a member of an ethnic minority” （Deborah L. Madsen： 218） in terms of binary oppositions.

The writer Kathryn Stockett， a white American woman， was born in 1969 and raised in Jackson， Mississippi where and when it’s popular that the white family employed the black maids to clean the house， cook and look after their babies. After graduating from the University of Alabama， when she was twenty-four， she moved to New York City， where she worked in magazine publishing and marketing for nine years. When the “9·11” accident happened， she lost all connects with her family， and felt badly sad and homesick. At that time of desperation， she needed Demetrie， her family maid， to be together with her. Next day， she started to write， using the voice of Demetrie to comfort herself， as if she was doing the direct talk with Demetrie as it was. Finally， she finished the writing named The Help which is her first novel， within 5 years. It presents for us the state of daily life between the black maids and the white women in 1960s in the town of Jackson， Mississippi. In her fiction， Kathryn Stockett depicts several unforgetful women： Aibileen， Minny， Constantine in the memory and other black maids who live by being maids， so they do their best to make perfect and no mistakes， although the unfair treatment by the white employers； Miss Skeeter， a white but kind， independent and thoughtful unmarried lady raised by her family maid Constantine， who dreams of being a writer； Miss Hilly， Miss Leefolt， Miss Celia and other married woman， who are busy of doing the so-called benefit， talking about a little politics， enjoying their leisure and mainly being a wife. So here are three kinds of characters： the black who lost her identity and voice under the oppression of both the white woman and her husband， such as Aibileen and Minny； the white wife who has no self-identity under the male-domination， such as Miss Hilly and Miss Leefolt； Miss Skeeter， only her in the novel as a free and independent one from “double consciousness”.

1. Being Belongings and Even Thoughtless Under Gender Discrimination —Deconstruction of White Feminism

（White） Feminism states that the female lives her life independent from the male， and enjoys the rights equal with the male. Bell hooks， in terms of Betty Friedan’s The Feminism Mystique， “points out： Friedan’s famous phrase， ‘the problem has no name’， often quoted to describe the condition of women in this society， actually referred to the plight of a selected group of college-educated， middle and upper class， married white women – housewives bored with leisure， with the home， with children， with buying products， who wanted more out of life.” （hooks， pp.1-2） So women， after the two waves of American feminism， came to be not satisfied with this kind of situation： shopping and dressing up almost everyday； often holding the party and playing cards in Bridging Club； being a wife or belongings or just accessory of a man and a mother of her babies. Otherwise， those white women in The Help， were absolutely trapped in the situation. They were seemingly equal with their husbands， for example they can be free to talk about politics； and do the seemingly important jobs， such as charity for those starving children in Africa， but in fact， they women， may not be needed to do these not essential job. In addition， there was a detail that they pretended to yell at the football for making their husband happy and indicating that they were paying the same attention to affairs happening in their country as men. It was ironic that these so-called independent women had been depending on their husbands. What was the most important was that， from the perspectives of men， women were just their own possession and even should be obedient and no resistance.

First of all， Hilly， the most active leader in local women’s community， represented the authority among the female. But why？ We will find that the reason rooted in the power of her husband， William， elite in the world of politics. At any time， one who has the political power owns the authority of being the leader. And most of people have to follow the leader in terms of his powerful background. Therefore， Hilly， not by her own but depending on her man’s power， had been exercising a leader’s rights and determining or even controlling what both white and black women should do. In other words， Hilly can lead women to talk about politics， to hold Children’s Benefit Ball and to do other seemingly essential things， which indicate that women were equal with men and were pursuing Feminism， but those just happened in the community of women and on not eye-catching things， and who will determine politics and its likes were still men. Later on， the publication of the helps’ book stirred up a strong response from white women， such as a little sympathy of their helps and increasing disgust of Hilly’s domineering. That Hilly dropped from the heaven to the hell manifests the deconstruction of Feminism.

Secondly， we will find a fact about Miss Leefolt （Elizabeth） that she was a certain thoughtless follower of Hilly and one of belongings of her husband. When she listened to Hilly’s advice to ask Mr. Leefolt for building Aibileen a bathroom in the garage， he yelled， “This is my damn house and I pay for what goddamn goes in it…I put up with the new clothes， all the damn trips to New Orleans with your sorority sisters， but this takes the goddamn cake.” （14） In the eye of Mr. Leefolt， he provided enough comfortable life for his wife， as his doing to a pet， providing that the pet was obedient， or thoughtless. That is to say， wives are just one of the properties of their husbands； final decision on the family business is not by the hostess. “The husband flew into a rage， not because he cannot meet the requirements of his wife， but because he thought his wife was rebelling against his authority and ordering at him.” （ 肖芳：141） From what has been discussed above all， it can be concluded that the white women was still living in the shadow of their men.

2. Being Silent or Voiceless under Racial and Gender Discrimination——the Deconstruction of Black Feminism

“The females were oppressed in terms of the gender， and also of the class， the race and the nation.”（左金梅： 47） Though the Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Movement were on their way in 1960s， “coloured women were excluded from positions of public influence in both the black male-dominated Civil Rights movement and the Women’s Movement which was dominated by white women.” （Madsen： 215） So， black female， to avoid being excluded and “being different from white males as well as females and black males， put forward Black Feminism.” （朱立元：356） Black Feminism is a branch of Feminism. Except for advocacy of white Feminism that the female should be equal with the male， Black Female， meanwhile asserts that the black female should have the equal rights with the white female as well. However， in the community of southern women in The Help， those black maids became voiceless under the extreme oppression of white women， to the extent of disintegration of self-identity or deconstruction of Black Feminism.

Aibileen Clark was a middle-aged black maid who had spent her life raising seventeen white children and recently lost her dear son. “That was the day my whole world went black.” （2） “A bitter seed was planted inside a me.” （3） What’s worse was that her husband had run off his family with another woman. Now she was alone， just herself. In spite of the sharp pain to the extent of being dead and unfair treatment by the white ladies， Aibileen put on her white uniform and came into the house of Miss Leefolt. She accepted and yielded to her destiny， no words and no reaction.

Most of time， she worked as a seemingly peaceful maid， keeping silent， emotionless and well-disciplined， serving and following around ladies to keep up with their mess. As if she was only a tool， lifeless in the house. It was in southern Jackson where the racial discrimination was the most serious in 1960s， even today. Many laws existed to separate the black from the white. “The Negroes and whites are not allowed to share water fountains， movie houses， public restrooms， ballparks， phone booths， circus shows.”（173） As well as Hilly’s suggestion of the Home Help Sanitation Initiative as a disease-preventative measure and building Aibileen a bathroom in the garage. In her eyes， Aibileen was dirty， inferior and a germ-carrier. Derrida concluded that in a system of conceptual oppositions， “for each center， there exists an opposing center （God/humankind， for example）.”（Bressler： 105） In addition， Western philosophy decrees that “in each of these opposing centers， one concept is superior and defines itself by its opposite or inferior center.”（Bressler： 105-106） Hilly considered Aibileen as a dirty and inferior black， according to the decree of binary opposition， to suggest that herself was healthy and superior.

It was such a shame， a taboo to talk about the relationship between the white and the black that though they knew the written rules， they don’t talk about them， at least no talking among the whites and the blacks. However， Hilly， an evil woman， talked about the bathroom when Aibileen was present！ Even Aibileen was so scared and tight in the throat that she preferred to be absent or invisible. In the house， Hillys are the centre while Aibileen is the margin， the other and invisible woman. Here she was not one of people， just “an instrumental object that has lost her status as the subject and lost her voice as well as the right to speak.” （朱立元：426）

Aibileen’s grown deft at hiding her feelings. Even though Hilly talked loudly about the bathroom， she heard it but pretended she didn’t， to avoid being hurt. When Miss Hilly asked， “Aibileen， how do you like your new bathroom out there？ It’s nice to have a place of your own， now isn’t it？” （111） Aibileen stared at elsewhere， and said “Yes ma’am” twice. But Hilly kept looking at her， till Aibileen finally lowered her head， “Thank you， ma’am.” In this conversation， Hilly was strong and Aibileen weak. The strong forced the weak to say what she was glad to hear and didn’t ask how the answerer really felt， and kept an idea in mind that “I’m the important one while she is the unimportant， the other，” and that she uttered dominant discourse while subordinate black maid had no right to say no. After the mess that a Negro was shot， the mayor came on the radio， “Jackson， Mississippi， is the closest to heaven there is.”（197） It heard ironic for those black people. In their mind， Jackson was the hell where Aibileen and Minny were humiliated and accused of stealing by the liar Hilly. “The good Southern women who’ve spent their lives taking care of their helps. I know I personally treat my help like family and every one of my friends does the same.”（400） On the TV， the white female reporter tried to defend themselves away from the truth in Aibileen’s book， and beat the 1 into people’s head that “We are friendly to our helps”. The radio， the TV， the newspaper and its like were all made up by the dominant white spokesmen for culture hegemony. “White women place themselves in a position of domination over subordinate coloured women and speak of their own condition as if issues of race and class were invisible.”（Deborah L.Madsen： 218） White people considered the blacks as stereotypes of dirty， vulgar and stealing ones， thinking that it’s dangerous to put the black woman and man together. All of these were make-ups and had been distorted by the white. Being asked “what it was like to be colored maids for the white family，” Aibileen and Minny said， “we are very good， we are happy.” But it is none of the truth. They were too scared to tell the truth about the unfair treatment， so that the best is to keep silent and voiceless.

Aibileen was abandoned by her husband， but she couldn’t do anything but accepted it and endured the inhumanity of oppression by gender prejudice. Minny was a typical example of suffering from gender discrimination. She worked hard and cooked the best， regardless of her sass-mouthing. A good mama and a good wife， in spite of ill temper， she loved and lived for her family. However， her husband who also suffered from the unfair treatment by the white boss should give vent to his wife by hitting her. In the male-dominate society， Minny were controlled by the thought of disability to keep away from the violence. But fortunately， in the end she left， and became free.

What both of the two black women had experienced told us that because of inequality of rights with the white and non-freedom from the double oppression， principles of feminism were not structured. In other words， the work deconstructed motifs of feminism， and presented how Black Feminism was broke up by Deconstruction based on the principle of binary oppositions.

Conclusion

The novel depicts daily lives between the white and the black， between the male and the female. It is the detailed and vivid description that makes us readers figure out that in 1960s in American， the weak consciousness of Feminism poisons the mind of the black female as well as the white female， so that they suffered from a lot. The loss of self-identity of the female， results in the deconstruction of Feminism.

In the postscript of the novel， Kathryn Stockett writes， “I’m pretty sure I can say that no one in my family ever asked Demetrie what it felt like to be black in Mississippi， working for our white family. It never occurred to us to ask. It was everyday life. It wasn’t something people felt compelled to examine. I have wished， for many years， that I’d been old enough and thoughtful enough to ask Demetrie that question. She died when I was sixteen. I’ve spend years imagining what her answer would be. And that’s why I wrote this book.” （451） After reading the novel， now we know what she will answer， and we also saw that the white women how lived in the shadow of their husbands. Maybe our American whiter was trying to express the pity for the female in the 1960s.

Bibliography：

[1]Bressler， C. E. .Literary Criticism： an introduce to theory and practice[M]. 北京：高等教育出版社， 2004， 11.

[2]hooks， bell. Feminist Theory： From Margin to Center[M]. Boston： South End Press， 1984.

[3]Madsen， Deborah L.. Feminist Theory and Literary Practice[M]. 北京： 外語教學(xué)與研究出版社， 2006 （8）.

[4]Stockett， Kathryn. The Help[M]. New York： Penguin Group， 2010.

[5]凱瑟琳·斯多克特. 唐穎華譯. 相助[M]. 北京： 中國城市出版社， 2010.

[6]肖芳， 胡文萍. 夾縫中的生存與覺醒—美國電影《幫助》中的女性群相[J]. 科教文匯， 2012（11）， 140-141.

[7]朱立元. 當(dāng)代西方文藝?yán)碚揫M]. 上海： 華東師范大學(xué)出版社， 2005（4）.

[8]左金梅， 申富英. 西方女性主義文學(xué)批評[M].青島： 中國海洋大學(xué)出版社， 2007， 10