Last week, my book club discussed The Help. The author has been criticized for having the audacity, as a white woman, to write about black women’s experience in the south in the 1960s—and from those black women’s point of view.
The book is fiction, and I’m a fiction writer so I find this thought-provoking. I’m not a man, but I include male point of view in all my novels. I’ve even written from the POV of an African-American man and an Indo-Canadian man. As for my heroines—well, I am a woman, but I’m not a tattoo artist (“Tattoos and Mistletoe” in this month’s release, The Naughty List), nor am I Chinese-Canadian nor Native Canadian, nor am I a sociologist, a wedding planner, or any of the other professions I’ve given my heroines.
I have the audacity to tell a story from the point of view of someone who is different from me. Well, yeah. If I wrote only what I know myself, then I wouldn’t have many stories to tell and they’d be more like autobiography than fiction—and they sure wouldn’t be very interesting!
For me, part of the joy of writing and of reading is to get emotionally involved with people (okay, fictional characters, but they seem like real people to me) who are both different from me and the same as me. It’s about finding the common qualities, the common humanity, within all of us.
I certainly can’t speak for Kathryn Stockett, and I haven’t read or heard interviews with her. (I’m too busy writing, and reading). But, speaking purely as a reader, that’s what her book did for me. It illuminated common humanity in women who seemed very different. And wasn’t that the lesson that the white protagonist Skeeter learned too, over the course of the book?
Did Stockett give an accurate portrayal of “the black woman’s experience in the south”? Of course not, because there’s no such thing. Each black woman is as unique as each white woman, and has her own experience. I think Stockett, in writing fiction, created some memorable characters, both black and white, and I enjoyed living in their fictional world and I learned from them and felt for them.
One of my book club members, also a writer, said that for her, Stockett crossed the line when, as a member of “the oppressors,” she wrote in the POV of “the oppressed.” Personally, I don’t agree. Yes, I would like to see more stories by black women about that period in history, but I don’t think it was wrong for Stockett to include black women’s POV in her book. There are groups that are still, in large part, oppressed in our society, and I don’t think it’s wrong to include them in our stories and give them a voice. For me, it’s an attempt to understand, to relate, and to respect.
What do you think? When does a writer go too far in trying to stand in another person’s shoes and speak in her or his voice?
I haven’t read “The Help” yet, but I do have an opinion on writing POV. I believe that authors have an obligation to tell their story in the best way they can. Sometimes, that involves putting the reader in the head of a character that is very unlike the author, but that’s the nature of writing and authors have been doing it for thousands of years. Where would we be if Shakespeare didn’t write dialog for Juliette or Viola or Kate the Shrew? How about Twain? He wasn’t an illiterate runaway, yet he got inside Huckleberry Finn’s head.
Perhaps the discussion should be about whether or not the author accurately captures the character and tells that side of the story, rather than the political correctness of the writing.
Celeste, I agree with you – and yet I doubt there would ever be a consensus as to whether the author has accurately told the character’s story. For example, I’m positive there are black southern women who think Stockett did a wonderful job of telling their story – and others who think she sanitized it, or exaggerated it, or whatever. I know that, as an author, one of the things that means so much to me is when a reader writes to tell me that I got it right. When an Asian woman, or someone in an interracial relationship, or a plus-size woman (none of which I am), tells me I’ve told a story that rings true to her experience, that’s such a high compliment.
I agree, if writers only stuck to writing about characters they had close personal experience with, a lot of great books would never have been written. Writing fiction is about putting yourself into someone else’s head. I’ve never been an assassin, but I wrote a story about one. When we write about people not like ourselves, maybe we succeed in telling their story and maybe we don’t, but either way we open a dialogue.
Good point about opening a dialogue, Amy. What’s writing about? Partly entertainment, for sure, but partly it’s to get people thinking and talking.
I cant speak to The Help or whether I feel like it was sanitized or misleading in any way because I’ve yet to read it. (I’m #121 on the reserve list for it at my public library lol!)
But I love reading fiction, especially in the paranormal genre so I’d never expect an author to write only what they know firsthand, otherwise I’d never get my sexy were and vampire heroes
Plus I agree it’s be a very boring world if that were the case. That being said however, I do feel that there are boundaries that most people don’t like being crossed. The example I’m thinking of is James Frey and his fictional memoir. I think people feel tricked if something is misrepresented.
#121, Bella? Wow! I think your library needs to order more copies.
And yes, I think it should always be clear to the reader – and honest – what kind of book they’re picking up. I write fiction. I not only create characters, but I sometimes fudge details of place, time, etc., if I want them to better suit my story. And my justification is, it’s fiction! Don’t expect it to be real. LOL.
The “reality” I’m looking for is that the characters ring true to the reader – that the reader thinks, “These are people I might like to know” – and that the characters’ issues resonate with readers.
Hi Susan,
If all author’s had to stay the POV if characters of their race and social status we would have a pretty sad bunch of books to read. Actors portray characters outside of their ethnicity and experience by doing research, the same goes for a writer.
I have a trilogy set in the 1700′s and 1800′s with in the first books all Nez Perce characters and the other two mostly Nez Perce characters. I’m not Native American, but I could empathize with the Nez Perce while researching them and use the basic emotions I know and put them into context with their lives and feelings.
The world is richer because there are writers who do go beyond what they know and bring that knowledge to more.
Paty
That’s a lovely way of putting it, Paty. Yes, I do think the world is richer for writers doing that. Thanks for your comment.
Hi Susan,
First, in the interest of answering your question before I go down some rabbit holes, let me say that I totally agree that if we can write from the POV of a geisha, for example, we can write from the POV of a maid – even a black one from Jackson, MS. If I remember correctly, Stocket is a journalist, and this was her first novel. I would think, then, that she would actually do a lot more research than many novelists would, regarding any character’s POV.
But, I can’t stop there in response to your post…
As a Southerner, and a woman born just long enough ago to actually have some first hand knowledge & experience with these subjects, I was excited to get your email about this post. I knew just what I wanted to say – until I read this:
“One of my book club members…said… Stockett crossed the line when, as a member of “the oppressors,” she wrote in the POV of “the oppressed.”
That stopped me in my tracks. You can tell your friend for me that was one of the most racist statements I’ve ever heard.
Stockett is not an oppressor.
One of my best friends just happens to be black and in fact was just up from Virginia visiting me here in western Canada. Not being a reader or moviegoer, she had barely heard of The Help and I was telling her about it. Her mother was a nanny to many white children. When I started telling her the basis of the story, she ranted and raved about how people are always exaggerating the mistreatment of blacks – how her Mom’s “babies” still phone her and come see her, bring her gifts at Christmas and birthdays, and ask her to come and take care of them when they’re sick and, even as adults, just want to be coddled.
Am I saying there was no mistreatment of blacks by whites? Absolutely not. (There’s also a lot of mistreatment of whites by blacks, btw.) Have some truly horrible things been done due to racism? Yep.
But this book was more about relationships. It was quite evident that Hilly reigned Social Queen, and some of the other young wives would have treated their maids better had it not been for Hilly’s influence &/or pressure. Could that happen in real life? I suppose, but only in a very small group, I would think. Hilly just couldn’t oversee everybody’s lives – there aren’t enough hours in a day. Stockett also made it sound, though, as if the entire population of maids was treated badly. As I said, I am assuming that Stockett did quite a bit of research before writing (beautifully) from the black maids’ POV. If that assumption is true, then, in my opinion, she exaggerated the “oppression” for the sake of the fiction, making the whites appear ridiculously self-centered.
My Daddy & his sisters were raised by a black nanny, and she was still maid & cook to my grandparents until I was an adult, so she partly raised me. And when my mom worked part-time teaching piano, I had a maid – a succession of maids, some wonderful, some I didn’t like – that took care of my brother & me as well as doing housework. They weren’t real nannies, though, as the relationships were not terribly long-term for one reason or another, and they weren’t full-time. But I can, nonetheless, speak from experience about the relationship between a black maid and a white Southern woman. And I talked to Nanny about it sometimes, so it’s not just my opinion. Some of Mama’s maids still stop her if they see her in the grocery store (and vice versa) to ask how she is and how I’m doing. Mom still sends work their way if they’re not yet retired and does kindnesses for them in myriad ways (and vice versa).
Have I encountered people like those Stockett describes in the South? Yes, of course. But they’d be the extremely small minority. Face it – there are good people everywhere and bad people everywhere. It’s that simple. Have I ever known anyone to treat a maid or nanny in their employ badly based on color? Absolutely not. They were glad for the help.
My Nanny (technically Daddy’s Nanny), even though we loved her and considered her family, never ate at the main table with us, and I questioned that as a child. But the truth was, she wouldn’t have if she was white, either. She was busy waiting on us, cleaning up, etc… and ate after her work was done. If it was just the two of us, instead of a bunch of family, we’d eat together at the kitchen table, because there just wasn’t much for her to do. And every once in a while, as a child, one or two of us grandchildren got to go spend the night at her house, and were treated just like her own. My grandfather took care of her, helped her with legal matters, made improvements to her house, made sure her medical was covered, and kept paying her till the day she died, even though she hadn’t been able to work for years. I was as proud of her grandson when he graduated as I am of my own son now.
My mother would be the same age as Skeeter and Hilly at that time, since I was born in 1960, and I think the book started in 63. When Mom was up here to visit, just after the movie came out, I took her to see it. She kept saying, “When’s the story going to start? All I see is my life, flashing before my eyes. Get to the good part.” She was joking, but Stockett, or I should say Hollywood, did do a great job with the sets, costuming and props. Looked like home to me. Did anyone besides me & Mom notice the caramel cake? Gotta be a Southerner to pick up on some of those details. I enjoyed the movie.
The book, however, I thought was excellent, even if it was rather biased against whites by the exaggerations. I don’t like being called an oppressor. But then, I don’t mind being the subject of a little stereotyping for the sake of a good read.
Kemala, thanks for that fascinating visit to the south you grew up in. It really does illustrate that each person’s experience is their own unique one. I think I came away with a bit more positive view of race relations – or at least the variety of race relations – than you did, from The Help, but that’s quite possibly because it was all new to me – i.e., I grew up in Victoria, BC, not in the south. I did think the book showed that a number of the maids and the families they worked for had quite positive, family-like, relations.
And isn’t that an illustration of how much a reader contributes to the reading experience? The author writes words on a page (or screen) and each reader brings her own experience, values, etc. to bear when she reads those words. We all come away with something a little different.
That’s one of the reasons I love being in a book club. We each get to compare notes and share our opinions and learn from each other. We can and will disagree, but hopefully we do it with open minds and with respect – and hopefully that’s also the way we read.
Thanks so much for your very thoughtful comment, Kemala.
Didn’t you think Stockett did a great job on her characters? So memorable. The only recent novel – I say recent, because there’s always Gone With the Wind, A Christmas Carol, etc… – with such wonderful characters, that I can think of, was The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. My son & I determined to go visit our friends on Guernsey next time we went to the UK. Then we realized they were all dead by now – so we’d have to visit their grandchildren. Then we realized they were fictional! We were so bummed. It was like we’d just been to their funeral. Now THAT’S writing – when your readers are convinced your characters are real. Wow.
Yes, I do think Stockett created characters who really came alive for me. Each of the main characters, black and white, was multi-dimensional, with a mixture of weaknesses and strengths. Even when you didn’t agree with them, you could understand them. I also liked seeing the character arc in some of them, so that you knew they ended the book as a better, stronger, more understanding person than they’d started it. And then of course there were others who didn’t grow – and how sad for them and those around them.
LOL re the characters from the Guernsey book. It’s such a testament to the author that she made you feel that way. I read the book and enjoyed it, but didn’t have quite as strong a reaction. Sometimes I think it’s timing. Sometimes I’m in a mood where certain characters and themes will resonate, and other times they just don’t get to me as much.
Hi Susan
I agree with you. If we write only from our own point of view and only of things we’ve done that’s a memoir, not a novel. While some lives are fascinating I’m not sure mine would rate a novel and certainly not several.
Nor, I suspect would most writers. Yet many of my favorite writers are multi-published with different points of views from different characters in each book. Unless they have multiple personalities they have to be writing from outside their personal experience. That ability to stretch themselves and get into the minds of their characters is what enables them to create memorable books.
Pat
Pat, your comment made me think about that old saying that you can’t understand someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. Which, I think, means that we shouldn’t judge each others until we’ve tried our best to put ourselves in their shoes. That’s something authors try to do – for ourselves and for our readers – as you’ve pointed out. It does stretch us. It stretches our understanding, our tolerance, our compassion. And those are all very good things!
Interesting blog. Brought back memories of the time I included some contemporary black characters and was taken to task for just about everything I wrote. Apparently, I was behind times and not into the latest slang amongst blacks. Also didn’t give the city I named a Better Business Review. Was given a whole host of programs and books I needed to research before I put black characters in my books again. These were minor characters,but educated and, I thought, pretty neat people, but not according to my reader. Needless to say I’d think long and hard before doing so again.
Oh, Shirlee, that’s so unfortunate! I’m so sorry that happened. I think you just got one very know-it-all reader. One who apparently thinks all black people use the same slang, which I’d be willing to bet isn’t the case – and which is pretty insulting.
Ok, to some I may have a heated POV about this issue. Just a head’s up, I have a very strong opinion about this issue.
I’m an adopted South Korean raised by a Caucasian family of GERMAN descent in Seattle, WA where I was raised since I was an infant. And by the way, I DO consider myself ONLY AMERICAN (!) of German descent and am also proud of my family’s German heritage.
The people complaining about “How dare that author write from a Black woman’s perspective when she was White” are being ridiculous and have a massive chip on their shoulder.
How in the world could I possibly write from a Korean’s perspective when I was raised here in Seattle with a Caucasian family? But because my skin betrays me, most people automatically assume I have an Asian background. No matter what I do I will always be writing from my mindset of a MIDDLE CLASS-SUBURBAN-WASHINGTON-CAUCASIAN despite what my body looks like, because that has been my experience growing up.
Is it wrong for me to write about having siblings because I have none?
Is it wrong for me to ever write about characters who give birth to their own children because I’m adopted and don’t have any children? (Although, I am a pretty kick-butt and proud Auntie!)
Is it wrong for me to write about single characters now because I’m married?
Is it wrong for me to ever write about the city of Chicago because I’ve never been there?
What if I’m writing about a mythological or paranormal being? Because I’m not a ghost, or a vampire, or a werewolf: this means I have no right to write about such beings?
Keep in mind – If I was writing something to intentionally hurt someone’s feelings or their lifestyle then yes, maybe I should be in trouble.
Otherwise? Mind your own beeswax. You’re burning my toast. If you’re mad at that author, be mad at me.
Bring! It! On!
Viva la Authors!
Thanks for this, Kat! I agree that I’d have problems with an author who’d intentionally hurt or disparage another person or group, but I respect authors like Stockett who try to step into someone else’s shoes and understand what it’s like to be them. If we all tried to understand each other’s perspective a bit better, there’d be far fewer misunderstandings, arguments, and – dare I say it? – wars. (IMHO
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I have read parts of it and have ordered it from my library, though I might buy it soon, anyway. One woman from her town (a black woman) felt that Stockett had based her novel too much on her life; indeed, this way of life in the Southern U.S. was still alive in the 60s, as many of my daughter’s friends in the South had parents who had African-American live-in servants or domestic help.
I think Kathryn Stockett is a superb writer and I have no complaints whatsoever. She writes of the life and times of the period she grew up in and knew. Having traveled a lot to the South (I am in the N.E. US), the subtle differences today are still vast between the North and the South.
Let me clarify my statement. I believe the black woman in Stockett’s town felt that Stockett had based the book too much on the life of this particular black woman, who had lived and worked in Stockett’s home growing up. I suspect that this is likely true and that Stockett’s account is likely pretty close to being accurate. If Stockett had never had African-American servants in her home growing up, then I would say that she is writing outside her expertise, but as it is, I think Stockett is square on the money. This is not to say that the people characterized in Stockett’s novel might not have very different stories to tell or to fictionalize. I’m sure they do. Maybe they will write them.
The woman is suing Stockett for $75,000 in damages for creating a character based on her, without her permission and with embarrassing results. Her brother had worked for the Stockett family.
I’m sorry the woman was upset, and I’m sorry she’s suing. It’s really unfortunate for all concerned.