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Having worked as a maid for nearly forty years, Aibileen is accustomed to the unfair treatment of Black people in the South. Aibileen enjoys caring for the children of the family she works for, though she makes sure to move on to a different family before the children are old enough to espouse the racist views of their parents. Mae Mobley is the seventeenth child Aibileen has cared for. Aibileen feels a special bond with Mae Mobley, as she is the first child Aibileen has looked after since the death of her son, Treelore. Aibileen grieved for months after Treelore’s death and was on the verge of committing suicide, though she was stopped by Minny. Although Aibileen eventually went back to work, she felt a “bitter seed” growing inside her, which made her less accepting of the way things are.

This bitter seed incites Aibileen to want to change things. A gifted writer and storyteller, Aibileen makes up stories for Mae Mobley to teach her that Black people and white people are not so different and encourages Mae Mobley to think twice about the assumptions white adults make about Black people. She also tries to instill confidence and self-worth in Mae Mobley, who is often abused and criticized by her mother, having Mae Mobley repeat that she is kind, smart, and important. This bitter seed, along with Hilly’s overt racism, is also what encourages Aibileen to be part of Skeeter’s book and to enlist other maids to be a part of the book. Aibileen fears what will happen to her as a result of participating in the book, though she knows that creating change for the greater good is more important than her fate. Even with the bitter seed inside her, Aibileen remains openhearted and kind. Working on the book with Skeeter helps her see even more clearly that the lines between Black and white people are imaginary and that kindness is all that matters.

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