The Help discussion

I don't like her at all, she was so rude and prejeduce. I liked how Skeeter and Aibeleen stood up to her. I do like sarcastic characters, just not when they disrespect rights to other people.

I was not a fan of Hilly. I thought she was so nasty and disrespectful. I loved how Skeeter put her in her place with putting the toilets in her yard so funny.

I think Hilly is a wonderful villain and example of the types of people you might have found in this setting. She was wonderfully written, and although I didn't like her as a person, I thought she was a great character. I don't think The Help would have worked without her.

"Hilly" is all that I despise in a female.

I agree there's always a Hilly somewhere in the crowd. However it is a pretty interesting view of sociology how even though her "friends" stick around for fear of social stigmatization they are also very aware of her nasty nature. She embodies what a bully really is.

Hilly was a little to freaking bossy and I actually LOLed when I read about the Terrible Awful! LOL

She was awful! I loved how she was portrayed and the pie scene was superb!!

Hilly is written to be hated,and she's just real enough to be beleivable.

shes a bitch

She was SO EVIL!!!! I was scared of her just reading about it. I really wanted someone to slap her or something. She was the Devil's wife.

Ava wrote: "shes a bitch"

one word:Y.E.S
couldn't agree with you more!

She is so mean! Every moment in the book,
I thought that she was going sent somebody to jail.
But then again, we can all have a little hilly in us
sometimes.

Hilly Holbrook....SO racist and prejudice. No matter what it was, she always found a way to fire Minny, Aibileen, and the other maids. I hate how she accused them of stealing silver when they knew they didnt, but if they tried to protest, no one would believe them. And Hilly's "seperate but equal" line did not make any sense. There was nothing equal about what she was doing with the seperate bathrooms. Hated her

She is soooo mean, but I believe she not unlike any other white women of that time. It's sad that our world was, and in some ways is still like that. She got her dues with the pie thought:) Ha!

I think she was a horrible person. She was the villan deffinatly but in her scheming, charming, disgusting way. It just annoyed me how good of a mother she was.

Mean and horrible - but there are a number of Hilly's around in everyday life. Which is why she is such an interesting character in the book.

A character you love to hate. :)

Hilly was very conceited and thought that she was superior to others. She represents the southern aristocracy that so fought to keep there slaves. Her prejudice was so deeply rooted that there was no chance of her seeing things differently. That being said, I thought Hilly was very snobbish and self-serving!

Snobbish and Self-Serving is correct!

I grew up in the 50's and there really were women like Hilly. Self absorbed, controlling, and racist to the nth degree.

Hilly was a bully because she could be one. Those around her allowed her to be a bully. Even Hilly's mother knew that she was a bully. Skeeter put Hilly in her place with the article in the newsletter about the toilets and with her book. Skeeter and the maids' response to Hilly was intelligent, patient and effective.

I loved when Aibileen finally stood up to her, she was horrible to all her "friends" and poor celia, but celia had a much better life than her anyway : )

Emmy wrote: "I think Hilly is a wonderful villain and example of the types of people you might have found in this setting. She was wonderfully written, and although I didn't like her as a person, I thought she..."

Even though she tried to make other people's lives miserable, in a way she made them better as Minny got a job with lovely Miss Celia, Skeeter ended up happier without her and in a better job and she helped protect most people who wrote the book. But still many people are trapped under her influence :/ which wasn't good.

I think hilly needs to be put back in her place. why would any one follow her around like a lost puppy. She's mean to everyone. How can you go behind your friends back and ruin their lives because they are doing something that is important to them?

i liked it who wouldn't but the best part was her pie she was not my favorite character

Chelsey wrote: "i liked it who wouldn't"

Liked what?

Brooke wrote: "She is so mean! Every moment in the book,
I thought that she was going sent somebody to jail.
But then again, we can all have a little hilly in us
sometimes."

soo true

She was incredibly spoiled, and definitely a product of her time.

My opinion of Hilly is that she is a typical Republican.

Emmy wrote: "I think Hilly is a wonderful villain and example of the types of people you might have found in this setting. She was wonderfully written, and although I didn't like her as a person, I thought she..."

Couldn't have said it better!

Shan'o'ban wrote: "I think she was a horrible person. She was the villan deffinatly but in her scheming, charming, disgusting way. It just annoyed me how good of a mother she was."

Why should her being a good mother annoy you? She was already an established villain by her treatment of her "friends". Why would you want her to continue that pattern of behavior with her children which would be so much worse than the way she treated the adults around her because it would leave them with permanent emotional damage?

Giving Hilly a redeeming characteristic made her real. As much as we might want to villify someone we don't like for everything that they do, sometimes we have to admit that even the bad guys aren't ALWAYS bad, just as good guys sometimes make mistakes. This is true in real life and I think it's one of the strongest aspects of the book because that's what makes great characters.

Ugg, Hilly. Couldn't stand her at all! Good on you Skeeter for taking her down a few notches! I will say that she was a very well developed character though!

I found myself literally yelling out loud how much I hated her. And when the terrible awful was revealed I screamed with joy. She was the perfect character you love to hate!

she could be a fun person to be around if she wasnt so power hungry. and if she didnt have the need to be in charge and have everyone agree with her

SHE CAN SHUT HER TRAP!

Hilly is simply detestable as a person but a necessary character and well written. Sad to say I know people like this in life who are self righteous thinking they are helping others all the while doing more harm than good.
The terrible awful made me cringe but I laughed out loud while reading!!!

Hilly kind of reminds me of Professor Umbridge..

Hilly is a witch. Nuff said

Hilly was hilarious, she was the perfect antagonist. I hated her with all of my heart, and yet I liked the parts that she was in

Anne wrote: "Hilly was hilarious, she was the perfect antagonist. I hated her with all of my heart, and yet I liked the parts that she was in"

I agree with you....She was hilarious, but I feel bad for thinking so with how HORRID of a person she was....Take the good with the bad I guess!

How much influence do you think women like Hilly had on the violence of the time - lynchings, the Emmett Till murder and such.

I am thinking of Aibileen’s thought as she contemplates the harm that can come to the family of those who participate in the interviews if they are found out: It’ll be a knock on the door, late at night. It won’t be the white lady at the door. She don’t do that kind a thing herself. But while the nightmare’s happening, the burning or the cutting or the beating, you realize something you known all your life: the white lady don’t ever forget….

Hilly undoubtedly reflects part of the worst of what's inside us, and both the book and the movie do a great job of bringing that out. The biggest problem with Hilly is the problem that most folks have - unable to see ourselves the way others often do, a delightful movie though.

Hilly Holbrook is just what i hate in a person.

Ruthie wrote: "Hilly Holbrook is just what i hate in a person."

Agreed!

Midwestocean wrote: "My opinion of Hilly is that she is a typical Republican."
Republican how?

Hilly was down-right mean to everyone, especially Celia,
the one that had miscarriages. Accept for her snobby Bridge friends. They're even as stuck-up and snobby as Hilly.
And as far as the s..t pie, she deserved that. I'm MORE than glad that Minny, the maid gave Hilly a piece of her own medicine.
As for me, I couldn't imagine ever being that low, self-centered, snobby b...h ever.

Me either i think i would littleraly hate myself for being that way!

I hate Hilly, but I think that she is a wonderful villain. She is a horrible person, yet she is the best mother out of all her friends. She's very real.

Hilly is the terrible awful!!

i would hang out with her.