Sweat (short story): Difference between revisions

 

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== Summary ==

== Summary ==

Delia is a [[laundry|washerwoman]] who works long hours in a small [[Central Florida]] town. Her husband Sykes does not work, yet he uses all of her money and resents that Delia cleans “white folks{{‘”}} clothes in their home. Sykes scares his wife of fifteen years by using her fear of [[snake]]s. The marriage is an [[spousal abuse|abusive]] one; Sykes began beating Delia two months after marrying. Observers in the town remark how the once-beautiful Delia has lost her shine because of her abusive husband. With that said, Delia has come to the conclusion that she does not need Sykes or his abuse, particularly considering it is her wages that paid for their home.

Delia is a washerwoman who works long hours in a small [[Central Florida]] town. Her husband Sykes does not work, yet he uses all of her money and resents that Delia cleans “white folks{{‘”}} clothes in their home scares by using her fear of [[snake]]s. The marriage is abusive; Sykes began beating Delia two months after marrying. Observers in the town remark how the once-beautiful Delia has lost her shine because of . Delia has come to the conclusion that she does not need Sykes or his abuse, particularly considering it is her wages that paid for their home.

Tired of Delia and seeking out freedom with his “portly” mistress Bertha, Sykes hatches a plan to [[poison]] Delia by planting a [[rattlesnake]] in her washing clothes. In a bit of [[karma|karmic]] fate, however, it is Sykes who is poisoned by the rattlesnake, fatally, in the neck. In response, Delia sits meditatively below a [[chinaberry]] tree waiting for her husband to expire, and ignoring his pleas for aid.

Tired of Delia and seeking out freedom with his “portly” mistress Bertha, Sykes hatches a plan to [[poison]] Delia by planting a [[rattlesnake]] in her washing clothes. In a bit of [[karma|karmic]] fate, however, it is Sykes who is poisoned by the rattlesnake, fatally, in the neck. In response, Delia sits meditatively below a [[chinaberry]] tree waiting for her husband to expire, and ignoring his pleas for aid.

1926 short story by Zora Neale Hurston

“Sweat” is a short story by the American writer Zora Neale Hurston, first published in 1926,^[1] in the first and only issue of the African-American literary magazine Fire!!. The story revolves around a washerwoman and her unemployed husband.

Summary[edit]

Delia is a washerwoman who works long hours in a small Central Florida town. Her husband Sykes does not work, yet he uses all of her money and resents that Delia cleans “white folks‘” clothes in their home, and scares her by using her fear of snakes. The marriage is abusive; Sykes began beating Delia two months after marrying. Observers in the town remark how the once-beautiful Delia has lost her shine because of the abuse. Delia has come to the conclusion that she does not need Sykes or his abuse, particularly considering it is her wages that paid for their home.

Tired of Delia and seeking out freedom with his “portly” mistress Bertha, Sykes hatches a plan to poison Delia by planting a rattlesnake in her washing clothes. In a bit of karmic fate, however, it is Sykes who is poisoned by the rattlesnake, fatally, in the neck. In response, Delia sits meditatively below a chinaberry tree waiting for her husband to expire, and ignoring his pleas for aid.

Characters[edit]

• Delia: Delia is an abused wife and her jaded view of Sykes and his mistreatment of her grows as the story progresses. Delia comes to feel the same way about her marriage as Sykes does: that the relationship has run its course. Delia portrays a woman from the Deep South in the first half of the 20th century who comes to discover freedom as independence from men.
• Sykes: Sykes is a stereotypical abusive husband. He physically and mentally abuses Delia, takes her income while failing to make his own, and has an affair on the side. Despite being out of work, for three months he has paid his mistress Bertha’s rent. After he has “wrung every drop of pleasure” out of Delia, he plots to poison her with a rattlesnake, but the plan backfires after he is fatally bitten in the neck.

Domestic abuse[edit]

Sykes abuses Delia physically by beating her, economically by taking her income, and emotionally by putting her down for her body type. The story investigates the psychological effects of an abusive relationship.

During the post-civil war time period, black men in the rural south had few job opportunities while black women could find work in the domestic service industry.^[2] As seen in the story, Delia is the sole financial provider for the family and this makes Sykes’ masculinity feel threatened.^[3] Sykes understands that he needs his…