Sweat By Zora Neale Hurston

Introduction

The story takes us into the lives of Delia Jones and her husband Sykes for a couple of weeks. Yet the story is punctuated with brief flashbacks from their fifteen-year long married life. Their lives reach a crucial moment with the husband's death and the wives consequent liberation and freedom.

It all starts when Delia, one day, tired of the constant suppression by her husband, stands to face him one day. In the story, she returns from church to start with her weekly laundry she had gathered from white people a day before. The husband, who had spent time with his mistress Bertha, hits her with a whip to frighten her. He tries to frighten her, knowing well how much she is afraid of snakes. He swears and abuses her, and also commits blasphemy by ridiculing her religion.  Delia reaches her saturation point as she sees her husband abusing her, and kicking clothes around just to provoke her further. Suddenly, she shakes away her week and humble demeanor and threatens her husband with a frying pan. She impresses upon him the reality that she won't be intimidated by him, or leaves the house for his mistress. She tells him she would not be bullied by him and would save the house she has maintained for fifteen years though her 'sweat'.

The next Saturday, Delia goes to the town with her laundry. In the second part of the story, the writer presents the society's perspective and shows people gossiping about the couple at a store. They all have a sympathetic attitude towards poor Delia and also show their contempt for Bertha who spoilt the house by responding to Sykes advances. The couple goes to the store to buy groceries. Sykes continues to flaunt his domineering attitude in front of the people in the town as well as his wife Delia who was passing by. Her public humiliation leads to a heightened sense of hatred.

Several weeks later, the story takes a new turn as Sykes tries to further intimidate her wife by actually bringing a real rattlesnake home. He keeps it in the soap box. After a few days, Delia runs out of patience and declares that she wants to move her church membership to another town, as she cannot take the Sacrament with Sykes, who she hates and despises beyond all limits. On the next day, being a Sunday, on returning back home, she sees the soap box empty. This makes her think that perhaps her husband has taken her threats seriously. But as she prepares herself to do the laundry, she is shocked to see the snake in the clothes hamper. She gets horrified and runs to the barn and spends the night there.

Subsequently in the night When Sykes comes back, he discovers no matches available to glow the candles there. As soon as he staggers into the intoxicated dark, unknowingly the rattlesnake sunk its teeth into him. At this sound, Delia from the barn, projects out and gazes at ...