Marriage was a priority in the 1960's. Young women were encouraged to be married and to start having families soon after graduating from high school. If a young lady did decide to attend college, they weren't expected to earn a degree; college was simply a middle-point between high school and marriage. Even women who earned a college degree were limited to the type of careers they could pursue, encouraged to enter female acceptable careers; nursing, teaching, and home education (Napikoski,web). .
In the novel, The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, Skeeter Phelan is a young lady who attends Ole Miss and obtains a degree. She returns home to her mother and friends who pressure her to get married and settle down. They are puzzled by the fact that she seems to desire something different for her life. Skeeter desires to become a journalist, a career path that was not always accessible to women. She finds employment as a domestic housekeeping columnist; she realizes that she is not an expert on the subject. This causes her to look for advice for the column from Aibileen, her friend Elizabeth Leefolt's maid. This contradicts the value of the 1960's as Skeeter is exploring opportunities in the workforce of journalism, an ideology that differentiated from the common conceptions of what a woman should be. .
The various values of the 1960's carried specific gender roles. Women during that time period were to aspire to be mothers and wives. The men were supposed to pursue careers and provide the sole economic support for their families. Women were encouraged to entertain and socialize with their friends, attend social events, and appear extravagant for their husbands (Napikoski,web). "The Help" shows some of these values of this historic time through the characters of Hilly Holbrook, Elizabeth Leefolt, and Charlotte Phelan (Skeeter's Mother). Hilly Holbrook, Elizabeth Leefolt, and Charlotte Phelan all appear to be the "classic 1960's women" of Jackson, Mississippi.
