Even though Minny is often baffled by Miss Celia’s behavior—since the woman is new to society life in Jackson—she does care about her and even feels sorry for her at times, too. As Celia has asked, Minny has tried to teach her how to cook. The lessons are far from successful. Minny has also gone along reluctantly with Celia’s plan to keep the maid’s employment a secret from her husband, Johnny. Even after Johnny and Minny accidentally meet (in Chapter 10), both keep the encounter a secret from Celia, letting her believe that her plan is working. When Minny finds out that Celia has an alcohol problem, she tries to talk her out of drinking (in Chapter 17). As a result, she’s fired—but not really. When Celia has her fourth miscarriage and is deathly ill, Minny takes care of her as best as she can and calls the doctor to come (in Chapter 18). Minny feels badly that Celia keeps calling the ladies of the Jackson Junior League, and that they never return her calls. It’s obvious that Celia needs a friend. Minny serves as one, even though she knows the lines between maid and employer. She tells her plainly that Hilly and Elizabeth do not accept her, and she does as much as she can to warn Celia about attending the Benefit banquet, to no avail (in Chapter 25). This event ends badly for Celia, who wears an outrageous dress and gets drunk, to boot. When she stays in bed to sulk for days afterward (in Chapter 26), it is Minny who pokes her and prods her and gets her out of her funk. And at last, when it’s obvious that Celia will never bear children, Minny is saddened but sympathetic (in Chapter 30). The Footes ask her to stay on with them, and she will. Certainly Celia needs someone to take care of her and to care about her, in addition to Johnny. When she first encountered the woman, Minny was no doubt ready to dislike her immediately, because she was different from the other Jackson ladies Minny had worked for. But this job didn’t turn out the way Minny had expected at all.
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