Cultivating nobility

I 've heard it said that the South was a feudal society that not only suffered from the wrongs associated with that society, slavery, but also mirrored its cultivation of nobility. Returning to Southern lit as a reader for enjoyment rather than as a reader for a grade, I realize that I can never really identify with some of these characters who have "help" around.  I don't have any housekeepers, gardeners or cooks, and don't know anyone who does or did have them on fulltime bases.  I feel sorry for Benjy getting stuck with Versh and Luther all the time, but I feel sorry for them, too, getting stuck with him, and I'm not sure I'm supposed to.  Does keeping help around the house emphasize nobility, a kind of elevation and separation from all the lowly around? Does having lowlies around the house make moms and dads feel noble? If I'm not paying my current "help", does it still make me seem more noble? (I do reimburse with wii and computer time...)