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"Sweat": Written by Zora Neale Hurston
Now frequently anthologized, Zora Neale Hurston's short story "Sweat" was first published in Fire!!, a legendary literary magazine of the Harlem Renaissance, whose sole issue appeared in November 1926. Among contributions by Gwendolyn Bennett, Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, and Wallace Thurman, "Sweat" stood out both for its artistic accomplishment and its exploration of rural Southern black life. In "Sweat" Hurston claimed the voice that animates her mature fiction, notably the 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God; the themes of marital conflict and the development of spiritual consciousness were introduced as well. "Sweat" exemplifies Hurston's lifelong concern with women's relation to language and the literary possibilities of black vernacular.
This casebook for the story includes an introduction by the editor, a chronology of the author's life, the authoritative text of "Sweat," and a second story, "The Gilded Six-Bits." Published in 1932, this second story was written after Hurston had spent years conducting fieldwork in the Southern United States. The volume also includes Hurston's groundbreaking 1934 essay, "Characteristics of Negro Expression," and excerpts from her autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road. An article by folklorist Roger Abrahams provides additional cultural contexts for the story, as do selected blues and spirituals. Critical commentary comes from Alice Walker, who led the recovery of Hurston's work in the 1970s, Robert Hemenway, Henry Louis Gates, Gayl Jones, John Lowe, Kathryn Seidel, and Mary Helen Washington.
This casebook for the story includes an introduction by the editor, a chronology of the author's life, the authoritative text of "Sweat," and a second story, "The Gilded Six-Bits." Published in 1932, this second story was written after Hurston had spent years conducting fieldwork in the Southern United States. The volume also includes Hurston's groundbreaking 1934 essay, "Characteristics of Negro Expression," and excerpts from her autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road. An article by folklorist Roger Abrahams provides additional cultural contexts for the story, as do selected blues and spirituals. Critical commentary comes from Alice Walker, who led the recovery of Hurston's work in the 1970s, Robert Hemenway, Henry Louis Gates, Gayl Jones, John Lowe, Kathryn Seidel, and Mary Helen Washington.
246 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1926
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1643 people want to read
About the author
Zora Neale Hurston
185 books5,437 followersNovels, including
Their Eyes Were Watching God
(1937), and nonfiction writings of American folklorist Zora Neale Hurston give detailed accounts of African American life in the South.
In 1925, Hurston, one of the leaders of the literary renaissance, happening in Harlem, produced the short-lived literary magazine Fire!! alongside Langston Hughes and Wallace Thurman shortly before she entered Barnard College. This literary movement developed into the Harlem renaissance.
Hurston applied her Barnard ethnographic training to document African American folklore in her critically acclaimed book Mules and Men alongside fiction Their Eyes Were Watching God . She also assembled a folk-based performance dance group that recreated her Southern tableau with one performance on Broadway.
People awarded a Guggenheim fellowship to Hurston to travel to Haiti and conduct research on conjure in 1937. Her significant work ably broke into the secret societies and exposed their use of drugs to create the Vodun trance, also a subject of study for fellow dancer-anthropologist Katherine Dunham, then at the University of Chicago.
In 1954, the Pittsburgh Courier assigned Hurston, unable to sell her fiction, to cover the small-town murder trial of Ruby McCollum, the prosperous black wife of the local lottery racketeer, who had killed a racist white doctor. Hurston also contributed to Woman in the Suwanee County Jail , a book by journalist and civil rights advocate William Bradford Huie.
In 1925, Hurston, one of the leaders of the literary renaissance, happening in Harlem, produced the short-lived literary magazine Fire!! alongside Langston Hughes and Wallace Thurman shortly before she entered Barnard College. This literary movement developed into the Harlem renaissance.
Hurston applied her Barnard ethnographic training to document African American folklore in her critically acclaimed book Mules and Men alongside fiction Their Eyes Were Watching God . She also assembled a folk-based performance dance group that recreated her Southern tableau with one performance on Broadway.
People awarded a Guggenheim fellowship to Hurston to travel to Haiti and conduct research on conjure in 1937. Her significant work ably broke into the secret societies and exposed their use of drugs to create the Vodun trance, also a subject of study for fellow dancer-anthropologist Katherine Dunham, then at the University of Chicago.
In 1954, the Pittsburgh Courier assigned Hurston, unable to sell her fiction, to cover the small-town murder trial of Ruby McCollum, the prosperous black wife of the local lottery racketeer, who had killed a racist white doctor. Hurston also contributed to Woman in the Suwanee County Jail , a book by journalist and civil rights advocate William Bradford Huie.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 153 reviews
April 23, 2025
You go girl! That's how the ending left me screaming. Hardworking Delia is married with good for nothing, aggressive Sykes. While she "sweats", trying to make ends meet, he goes out drinking and cheating. I was so angry the whole story but the ending was perfect. The short story is written in Florida African American dialect so it was a bit hard to follow, but the language only added to the attractiveness of the story.
Zora Neale Hurston is best know for the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God which is amazingly beautiful. I urge everyone to read it.
Zora Neale Hurston is best know for the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God which is amazingly beautiful. I urge everyone to read it.
April 26, 2023
She lay awake, gazing upon the debris that cluttered their matrimonial trail. Not an image left standing along the way. Anything like flowers had long ago been drowned in the salty stream that had been pressed from her heart. Her tears, her sweat, her blood.
If the universe is reluctant to settle scores, Zora Neale Hurston is willing to do the job instead.
If the universe is reluctant to settle scores, Zora Neale Hurston is willing to do the job instead.
December 11, 2022
This short story packs a punch, and although it might be triggering for some who’ve experienced abusive relationships, it’s carefully written to show the consequences, rather than relish the horror of it.
The dialect and Biblical references could make it opaque nowadays, especially to a white, British atheist. It’s a tribute to Hurston’s writing that I thought it brutally brilliant.
“Sweat, sweat, sweat. Work and sweat, cry and sweat, pray and sweat.”
Image: “Photograph shows a woman, probably African American, standing by a washtub with her hand on a washboard.” c 1918-1920. (Source)
Delia and Sykes are an African-American couple, living in a small Florida town, presumably in the 1920s. She’s a churchgoing, hardworking, house-proud washerwoman who’s paid for their house, pony, and cart. He’s a womanising wastrel who spends her money. Far worse, he takes pleasure in beating and humiliating her, and wielding the threat of doing so.
This has been true for the fifteen years of their marriage, and everyone in the village knows:
“He ain’t fit to carry guts tuh a bear.”
But something changes:
“Delia’s habitual meekness seemed to slip from her shoulders like a blown scarf. She was on her feet; her poor little body, her bare knuckly hands bravely defying the strapping hulk before her.”
The narrative arc is obvious from early on, but the specifics of the ending are brave on Hurston’s part, and create a nuanced, provocative, and thus satisfying conclusion. It’s a moral story, though it’s never preachy and doesn’t have a definitive moral.
Short story club
I read this as one of the stories in The Art of the Short Story, by Dana Gioia, from which I'm aiming to read one story a week with The Short Story Club, starting 2 May 2022.
You can read this story here.
You can join the group here.
The dialect and Biblical references could make it opaque nowadays, especially to a white, British atheist. It’s a tribute to Hurston’s writing that I thought it brutally brilliant.
“Sweat, sweat, sweat. Work and sweat, cry and sweat, pray and sweat.”
Image: “Photograph shows a woman, probably African American, standing by a washtub with her hand on a washboard.” c 1918-1920. (Source)
Delia and Sykes are an African-American couple, living in a small Florida town, presumably in the 1920s. She’s a churchgoing, hardworking, house-proud washerwoman who’s paid for their house, pony, and cart. He’s a womanising wastrel who spends her money. Far worse, he takes pleasure in beating and humiliating her, and wielding the threat of doing so.
This has been true for the fifteen years of their marriage, and everyone in the village knows:
“He ain’t fit to carry guts tuh a bear.”
But something changes:
“Delia’s habitual meekness seemed to slip from her shoulders like a blown scarf. She was on her feet; her poor little body, her bare knuckly hands bravely defying the strapping hulk before her.”
The narrative arc is obvious from early on, but the specifics of the ending are brave on Hurston’s part, and create a nuanced, provocative, and thus satisfying conclusion. It’s a moral story, though it’s never preachy and doesn’t have a definitive moral.
Short story club
I read this as one of the stories in The Art of the Short Story, by Dana Gioia, from which I'm aiming to read one story a week with The Short Story Club, starting 2 May 2022.
You can read this story here.
You can join the group here.
February 12, 2024
Time for another short story. Sweat published in 1926 by American author Zora Neale Hurston is a miserable story of a hard-working washer woman called Delia Jones. This industrious woman works seven days a week collecting and washing the clothes of the inhabitants of a small country town in Central Florida. Her husband of 15 years, Sykes, is a cruel, lazy, promiscuous man who has beaten his wife for the fifteen years of their miserable marriage.
Delia’s habitual meekness seemed to slip from her shoulders like a blown scarf. She was on her feet; her poor little body, her bare knuckly hands bravely defying the strapping hulk before her
Delia slowly gathers the strength to stand up to this cruel man. She reminds him this house was paid for by her sweat. He contributes nothing.
Domestic violence is the main theme here and it is miserable. Truly miserable. There are also some clever tools used by the author to convince the reader there is something about to happen, foreboding – suspense. Poverty and race is also a theme – and the author also used some religious metaphors to add to the expectation of an inevitable (unpleasant) ending.
Delia went clear to the rail without answering him. A triumphant indifference to all that he is, was or did. From my experience the death knell in any relationship is indifference. The point of no return.
The ending is indeed inevitable and necessarily horrific.
For those who don’t know – as I didn’t – Zora Neale Hurston, was a filmmaker, anthropologist, and a writer. Portraying racial issues in the South of the US in the early 1900’s.
If this is anything to go by, Hurston is worth reading again, and I would love to hear of some worthwhile recommendations from GR friends.
4 Stars
Delia’s habitual meekness seemed to slip from her shoulders like a blown scarf. She was on her feet; her poor little body, her bare knuckly hands bravely defying the strapping hulk before her
Delia slowly gathers the strength to stand up to this cruel man. She reminds him this house was paid for by her sweat. He contributes nothing.
Domestic violence is the main theme here and it is miserable. Truly miserable. There are also some clever tools used by the author to convince the reader there is something about to happen, foreboding – suspense. Poverty and race is also a theme – and the author also used some religious metaphors to add to the expectation of an inevitable (unpleasant) ending.
Delia went clear to the rail without answering him. A triumphant indifference to all that he is, was or did. From my experience the death knell in any relationship is indifference. The point of no return.
The ending is indeed inevitable and necessarily horrific.
For those who don’t know – as I didn’t – Zora Neale Hurston, was a filmmaker, anthropologist, and a writer. Portraying racial issues in the South of the US in the early 1900’s.
If this is anything to go by, Hurston is worth reading again, and I would love to hear of some worthwhile recommendations from GR friends.
4 Stars
December 10, 2022
May be because I have recently come back from a trip in which we have been looking at many paleo-Christian imagery – mosaics, frescoes, early medieval churches, catacombs – the generous use of religious symbols in this short story, jumped out at me.
I think, though, that they are so blatant, that I would have noticed nonetheless even without the catacombs in my memory.
The snake and women – whether Eve or Mary – lie behind Delia Jones’s aversion to rattle-snakes. But more than that. There is destiny, retribution, tragedy, and justice. A miracle of some sorts was to be expected in this rather simple story. The twist comes from Delia’s reaction being far from saintly, but there is a Being over the rest who comes in and tramples on evil.
Evil is not contained always in snakes – it can also be embedded in husbands.
December 6, 2022
5★
“ ‘Heah come Delia Jones,’ Jim Merchant said, as the shaggy pony came ’round the bend of the road toward them. The rusty buckboard was heaped with baskets of crisp, clean laundry.
‘Yep,’ Joe Lindsay agreed. ‘Hot or col’, rain or shine, jes ez reg’lar ez de weeks roll roun’ Delia carries ’em an’ fetches ’em on Sat’day.’
‘She better if she wanter eat,’ said Moss. ‘Syke Jones aint wuth de shot an’ powder hit would tek tuh kill ’em. Not to huh he aint.’ ”
Delia takes in washing on a Sunday, washes during the week, and delivers the baskets back the following Saturday. Her husband doesn’t want white folks’ clothes in his house. Delia considers it her house, paid for with her earnings, her sweat.
I quoted so you can see exactly how the story sounds. I think it’s remarkable how true to the ear the speech seems if you read it aloud. Written in 1926, it’s the language used then in this community.
The men watching Delia Jones are sitting around on a porch, hot, thirsty, and planning to share some cool melon. Her husband is out and about as usual with his current lady friend. Nobody is working up a sweat, as my dad used to say about satisfying physical work that earns you a cold drink and a sit-down.
Delia does take satisfaction in her sorting and soaking and washing routines. Skyes is just a miserable, interfering bully. But wait…
Enjoy the story! You can read it online and make your own interpretations:
https://biblioklept.org/2013/01/21/sw...
or download a PDF.
https://www.soarnorthcountry.com/imag...
“ ‘Heah come Delia Jones,’ Jim Merchant said, as the shaggy pony came ’round the bend of the road toward them. The rusty buckboard was heaped with baskets of crisp, clean laundry.
‘Yep,’ Joe Lindsay agreed. ‘Hot or col’, rain or shine, jes ez reg’lar ez de weeks roll roun’ Delia carries ’em an’ fetches ’em on Sat’day.’
‘She better if she wanter eat,’ said Moss. ‘Syke Jones aint wuth de shot an’ powder hit would tek tuh kill ’em. Not to huh he aint.’ ”
Delia takes in washing on a Sunday, washes during the week, and delivers the baskets back the following Saturday. Her husband doesn’t want white folks’ clothes in his house. Delia considers it her house, paid for with her earnings, her sweat.
I quoted so you can see exactly how the story sounds. I think it’s remarkable how true to the ear the speech seems if you read it aloud. Written in 1926, it’s the language used then in this community.
The men watching Delia Jones are sitting around on a porch, hot, thirsty, and planning to share some cool melon. Her husband is out and about as usual with his current lady friend. Nobody is working up a sweat, as my dad used to say about satisfying physical work that earns you a cold drink and a sit-down.
Delia does take satisfaction in her sorting and soaking and washing routines. Skyes is just a miserable, interfering bully. But wait…
Enjoy the story! You can read it online and make your own interpretations:
https://biblioklept.org/2013/01/21/sw...
or download a PDF.
https://www.soarnorthcountry.com/imag...
April 10, 2023
Such a powerful short story with a very satisfying ending! Thank you, Cecily, for reviewing it and posting a link to the story. I am now convinced I should read more by Zora Neale Hurston. She must have been quite a gutsy woman, seeing the date of publication is 1926!
December 8, 2022
The single short story "Sweat" was written by Zora Neale Hurston in 1926 when she published in the magazine, "Fire," during the Harlem Renaissance. She was an anthropologist as well as an author, and used references from the Bible and folk culture in the story. Hurston grew up in a central Florida town with an entirely African American population, and wrote the dialogue in "Sweat" in their dialect. There was a lack of economic opportunity in the 1920s for African Americans with women working as domestics and men as laborers - unless they moved north to the cities with factories.
Delia is a washerwoman who works very hard in the hot Florida summer washing the clothes of white families. Through her toil she has bought a house, a pony, and a cart. Her husband, Sykes, is physically and emotionally abusive, doesn't hold a job, and has a mistress. He wants to get rid of Delia so he can move his mistress into the house. There is interplay between good and evil, but Sykes' terrifying plan does not go the way he devised it.
"Oh well, whatever goes over the Devil's back, is got to come under his belly. Sometime or ruther, Sykes, like everybody else, is gointer reap his sowing."
This is a great story about gender roles, domestic abuse, and feminism. The story contained interesting bits of folk wisdom in dialect, such as the men at the general store comparing the abusive treatment of a wife to discarding a piece of sugar cane after chewing out the sweetness.
"Taint no law on earth dat kin make a man behave decent if it aint in 'im. There's plenty men dat takes a wife lak dey do a joint uh sugar-cane. It's round, juicy an' sweet when dey gits it. Buts dey squeeze an' grind, squeeze an' grind an' wring tell dey wring every drop uh pleasure dat's in 'em out. When dey's satisfied dat dey is wrung dry, dey treats 'em jes lak dey do a can-chew. Dey throws 'em away. Dey knows whut dey is doin' while dey is at it, an' hates theirselves fuh it but they keeps on hangin' after huh tell she's empty. Den dey hates huh fuh bein' a cane-chew an' in de way."
Delia is a washerwoman who works very hard in the hot Florida summer washing the clothes of white families. Through her toil she has bought a house, a pony, and a cart. Her husband, Sykes, is physically and emotionally abusive, doesn't hold a job, and has a mistress. He wants to get rid of Delia so he can move his mistress into the house. There is interplay between good and evil, but Sykes' terrifying plan does not go the way he devised it.
"Oh well, whatever goes over the Devil's back, is got to come under his belly. Sometime or ruther, Sykes, like everybody else, is gointer reap his sowing."
This is a great story about gender roles, domestic abuse, and feminism. The story contained interesting bits of folk wisdom in dialect, such as the men at the general store comparing the abusive treatment of a wife to discarding a piece of sugar cane after chewing out the sweetness.
"Taint no law on earth dat kin make a man behave decent if it aint in 'im. There's plenty men dat takes a wife lak dey do a joint uh sugar-cane. It's round, juicy an' sweet when dey gits it. Buts dey squeeze an' grind, squeeze an' grind an' wring tell dey wring every drop uh pleasure dat's in 'em out. When dey's satisfied dat dey is wrung dry, dey treats 'em jes lak dey do a can-chew. Dey throws 'em away. Dey knows whut dey is doin' while dey is at it, an' hates theirselves fuh it but they keeps on hangin' after huh tell she's empty. Den dey hates huh fuh bein' a cane-chew an' in de way."
December 6, 2022
Disturbing story. Brilliantly plotted. Strong language. Challenging finish. Fun to read. For all adult audiences.
June 18, 2018
Here follows a free online link to the short story: https://biblioklept.org/2013/01/21/sw...
The suspense in this gripped me. It will surely grip you too.
Don’t’ miss this short story. It is really VERY, VERY good.
The Southern dialect in the dialogs was in this short story more difficult for me to follow than in the other stories I have read by the author. This is not a reason to avoid the story. The dialogs are written just as they should.
In a few pages Zora Neale Hurston conjures a place and a time perfectly, capturing the weather, the drudgery and the harshness of life, the importance of religion in the South, a marital relationship that has soured and a community that observes, talks but does nothing. The setting is a rural black community in Florida, probably during the 1920s. The summer is sizzling. We observe Delia Jones, a wash-woman, her cruel husband Sykes, the two married for fifteen long years, and Sykes’ current fling. There is one more important character, but I am not going to give away who that is.
The suspense in this gripped me. It will surely grip you too.
Don’t’ miss this short story. It is really VERY, VERY good.
The Southern dialect in the dialogs was in this short story more difficult for me to follow than in the other stories I have read by the author. This is not a reason to avoid the story. The dialogs are written just as they should.
In a few pages Zora Neale Hurston conjures a place and a time perfectly, capturing the weather, the drudgery and the harshness of life, the importance of religion in the South, a marital relationship that has soured and a community that observes, talks but does nothing. The setting is a rural black community in Florida, probably during the 1920s. The summer is sizzling. We observe Delia Jones, a wash-woman, her cruel husband Sykes, the two married for fifteen long years, and Sykes’ current fling. There is one more important character, but I am not going to give away who that is.
December 5, 2022
“Work and sweat, cry and sweat, pray and sweat!”
Six years after women achieved the right to vote in the United States, Zora Neale Hurston wrote a story showing women’s struggles weren't over.
Delia is a hard-working washerwoman, taking in laundry to make a living, struggling to cope with her useless, nasty husband--abusive in every which way. He’s so bad, Delia says: “Ah hates yuh lak uh suck-egg dog.” You’ll agree with her.
I so enjoy the tone of folklore always to be found in Hurston’s fiction--it makes her prose dance and sing. Each time I read her I love her more.
Six years after women achieved the right to vote in the United States, Zora Neale Hurston wrote a story showing women’s struggles weren't over.
Delia is a hard-working washerwoman, taking in laundry to make a living, struggling to cope with her useless, nasty husband--abusive in every which way. He’s so bad, Delia says: “Ah hates yuh lak uh suck-egg dog.” You’ll agree with her.
I so enjoy the tone of folklore always to be found in Hurston’s fiction--it makes her prose dance and sing. Each time I read her I love her more.
June 4, 2025
Kudos to Dalia! Served that man right.
January 6, 2022
Sweat (1926) is a short story by the African American writer Zora Neale Hurston. It revolves around the washerwoman Delia and her unemployed and unfaithful husband Sykes.
I have to admit that I didn't really *enjoy* Sweat but can appreciate it for its literary merit and overall message. I struggled with this short story due to two main reasons:
Firstly, I couldn't follow the dialogue too well since Zora decided to write it in African American Vernacular English. Don't get me wrong, I highly appreciate it when authors are authentic on all levels, including linguistical ones, and I also appreciate it when they share their experiences and ways of living/speaking in an unapologetical manner. So, on the one hand, I love that Zora didn't try to 'whiten up her language' (as Yamini put it) and chose to be herself. On the other hand, I can't deny that I personally struggled with it, not being a native speaker and completely unfamiliar with that way of talking. It was very frustrating to read but I admit that I should have taken more time with the story instead of rushing through it.
Nonetheless, this didn't lessen my excitement for jumping into Zora's other works, since I've learned my lesson. Due to the fact that I read Sweat in public I couldn't read it out loud (to myself) which heightened my struggle understanding the text. So, I will take my sweet time when reading Their Eyes Were Watching God and other works by her. I'm positive that I won't have these severe comprehension issues when reading the dialogue out loud.
Secondly, I always struggle with short stories. I try to get into them but there are only a few writers that got what it takes to keep me satisfied upon finishing them. Sweat, in my opinion, was just a little too short and left me wanting more. I thought the ending was a banger (absolutely fucking loved it) but the build up came too short, and I wanted the abusive relationship portrayed in the story to be explored in more detail.
I definitely don't want to deter you from seeking out Zora's work. Sweat has a lot of good shit to offer and transcends the limits of time. I honestly can't believe that my girl Zora was so fucking woke in 1926. Mind blown.
Sweat is an incredibly feminist story centering on an abusive relationship between husband and wife – Sykes abuses Delia physically by beating her, economically by taking her income, and emotionally by putting her down for her body type.
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. As seen in the story, Delia is the sole financial provider for the family and this makes Sykes' masculinity feel threatened. Sykes understands that he needs his wife's money, so he resorts to physically harming her in order to help him feel powerful in a restrictive environment for black males.
I love the fact that Zora didn't excuse Sykes' actions and just portrayed them for what they were: despicable, abusive and craven.
I am also happy to have found a badass WOC as a protagonist in Delia: she runs her own household, works full time, feeds and clothes her husband, and deals with his daily verbal, mental, and physical abuse. It was so damn satisfying when she put herself first in the end and didn't take the burden of Sykes' sins upon herself. Let him rot in hell, girl!
Sweat, sweat, sweat! Work and sweat, cry and sweat, pray and sweat!As I want to get into Hurston's more popular work soon (Their Eyes Were Watching God and Dust Track on a Road) it was suggested by Yamini that I could get familiar with Zora's writing style by reading one of her short stories. I am very glad that I did this because now I am feeling a bit more prepared about what'll await me.
I have to admit that I didn't really *enjoy* Sweat but can appreciate it for its literary merit and overall message. I struggled with this short story due to two main reasons:
Firstly, I couldn't follow the dialogue too well since Zora decided to write it in African American Vernacular English. Don't get me wrong, I highly appreciate it when authors are authentic on all levels, including linguistical ones, and I also appreciate it when they share their experiences and ways of living/speaking in an unapologetical manner. So, on the one hand, I love that Zora didn't try to 'whiten up her language' (as Yamini put it) and chose to be herself. On the other hand, I can't deny that I personally struggled with it, not being a native speaker and completely unfamiliar with that way of talking. It was very frustrating to read but I admit that I should have taken more time with the story instead of rushing through it.
Nonetheless, this didn't lessen my excitement for jumping into Zora's other works, since I've learned my lesson. Due to the fact that I read Sweat in public I couldn't read it out loud (to myself) which heightened my struggle understanding the text. So, I will take my sweet time when reading Their Eyes Were Watching God and other works by her. I'm positive that I won't have these severe comprehension issues when reading the dialogue out loud.
Secondly, I always struggle with short stories. I try to get into them but there are only a few writers that got what it takes to keep me satisfied upon finishing them. Sweat, in my opinion, was just a little too short and left me wanting more. I thought the ending was a banger (absolutely fucking loved it) but the build up came too short, and I wanted the abusive relationship portrayed in the story to be explored in more detail.
I definitely don't want to deter you from seeking out Zora's work. Sweat has a lot of good shit to offer and transcends the limits of time. I honestly can't believe that my girl Zora was so fucking woke in 1926. Mind blown.
Sweat is an incredibly feminist story centering on an abusive relationship between husband and wife – Sykes abuses Delia physically by beating her, economically by taking her income, and emotionally by putting her down for her body type.
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. As seen in the story, Delia is the sole financial provider for the family and this makes Sykes' masculinity feel threatened. Sykes understands that he needs his wife's money, so he resorts to physically harming her in order to help him feel powerful in a restrictive environment for black males.
I love the fact that Zora didn't excuse Sykes' actions and just portrayed them for what they were: despicable, abusive and craven.
I am also happy to have found a badass WOC as a protagonist in Delia: she runs her own household, works full time, feeds and clothes her husband, and deals with his daily verbal, mental, and physical abuse. It was so damn satisfying when she put herself first in the end and didn't take the burden of Sykes' sins upon herself. Let him rot in hell, girl!
December 8, 2022
This is a short story classic about the life of an African America washwoman in the 1920's and her abusive marriage. It takes place in Florida. It was first published in 1926 and the role and attitude of the strong female character, Delia, seems to be rather insightful and cutting edge given the time period in which this story was written.
The author writes brilliantly descriptive passages and uses southern dialect which has the effect of you standing directly next to the characters. Although it can be a challenge to read, it adds a great deal to the emotion of the events. The story also has numerous religious references, in the form of Biblical events or passages, which also adds to the flavour of the deep south culture. All of this makes for a very engaging read.
Interestingly, these features which make the store so intriguing are left open for interpretation as to the purpose, intent and morality of the characters’ actions. This in turn gives the reader great opportunity to ponder the author’s purpose and intent of the story. Truly a classic hallmark.
This is only the second Hurston story I have read, the other being the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God which is written with much the same flavour as this short story. Both are exquisite examples of Hurtson's literary brilliance.
The author writes brilliantly descriptive passages and uses southern dialect which has the effect of you standing directly next to the characters. Although it can be a challenge to read, it adds a great deal to the emotion of the events. The story also has numerous religious references, in the form of Biblical events or passages, which also adds to the flavour of the deep south culture. All of this makes for a very engaging read.
Interestingly, these features which make the store so intriguing are left open for interpretation as to the purpose, intent and morality of the characters’ actions. This in turn gives the reader great opportunity to ponder the author’s purpose and intent of the story. Truly a classic hallmark.
This is only the second Hurston story I have read, the other being the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God which is written with much the same flavour as this short story. Both are exquisite examples of Hurtson's literary brilliance.
June 21, 2018
Buddy read with Bookish, Faith, and Chrissie, to begin on Sunday June 17, 2018 and run through the week.
This story has left me conflicted about how I feel about it. It didn't feel as immersing as her other writings. I expected to get pulled into this world but it really didn't happen for me until part three which I am guessing is about halfway through the story. Also for the first time I had trouble grasping Hurston's dialect, something that is normally magical for me. I actually found myself wondering if this was one of her first stories.
All that being said Hurston really captured the loss of love and of hope in one succinct paragraph that begins with. --
This is the power of her writing and that power really showcased itself in the last half of the story. There was palpable building tension that propels you along to its inevitable conclusion. This last part of the story was gripping, powerful, and tightly written, no words wasted.
I feel it is only fair to rate the sections separately since they felt so different to me, dialect difficult in the first portiin, smoth and magical in the last. The first two parts garner 3 stars, the last section is easily a 4, for an average of 3.5 which I have rounded up to 4.
This story has left me conflicted about how I feel about it. It didn't feel as immersing as her other writings. I expected to get pulled into this world but it really didn't happen for me until part three which I am guessing is about halfway through the story. Also for the first time I had trouble grasping Hurston's dialect, something that is normally magical for me. I actually found myself wondering if this was one of her first stories.
All that being said Hurston really captured the loss of love and of hope in one succinct paragraph that begins with. --
"She lay awake, gazing upon the debris that cluttered their matrimonial trail. Not an image left standing along the way. Anything like flowers had long ago been drowned in the salty stream that had been pressed from her heart."--
This is the power of her writing and that power really showcased itself in the last half of the story. There was palpable building tension that propels you along to its inevitable conclusion. This last part of the story was gripping, powerful, and tightly written, no words wasted.
"All the terror, all the horror, all the rage that man possibly could express, without a recognizable human sound."
I feel it is only fair to rate the sections separately since they felt so different to me, dialect difficult in the first portiin, smoth and magical in the last. The first two parts garner 3 stars, the last section is easily a 4, for an average of 3.5 which I have rounded up to 4.
June 21, 2018
I enjoyed the writing, in particular what Hurston was able to do with bringing these characters to the page in such a short story. I felt I understood not only the motivations behind Delia's and Sykes' behaviour but how they may fit into this small-town Florida community. On the surface this story might seem quite simple, at least that was my first impression, but Delia stuck with me a while longer and with a bit more thought I began to see her as epitomizing a strength that unfortunately was put to waste living with such a husband, something that is acknowledged through the other male characters. At the end one wonders at the waste of all those years ... and feels sorry for Delia, although it was only through her hard work that she has the little house of her own. So at least that is something.
February 26, 2025
I support women’s wrongs
January 23, 2011
I was reminded of having read this last night when talking with my partner about how different populations handle mental illness. He is black, and I'm white, but we mutually concluded both races are equally crazy, it's just that white folks seem to embrace theirs so much so that the media doesn't really report on it. Of course, there are a myriad of reasons for this. Then again, it was only our little theory, and we could be wrong, but it did lead us to this revelation...
I told him that it was my impression white people have perhaps been coming to terms with their insanity and abuse for a longer period of time through literature (Woolfe, Faulkner, Poe, Kafka,Freud, Kaysen, or Gilman), theater (Williams), and film (Sybil). In the black diaspora, it seems that things have came along a little more recently (Morrison, Sapphire, Walker, Achebe, Emecheta, Danticat, etc.). Granted, there are reasons for this, of course, prejudice against publishing certain authors being one of the largest, but, I think, you have to give credit to Hurston for being one of the first to acknowledge this, especially as it relates to the oppression of women.
And this is a great short story, by the way.
I told him that it was my impression white people have perhaps been coming to terms with their insanity and abuse for a longer period of time through literature (Woolfe, Faulkner, Poe, Kafka,Freud, Kaysen, or Gilman), theater (Williams), and film (Sybil). In the black diaspora, it seems that things have came along a little more recently (Morrison, Sapphire, Walker, Achebe, Emecheta, Danticat, etc.). Granted, there are reasons for this, of course, prejudice against publishing certain authors being one of the largest, but, I think, you have to give credit to Hurston for being one of the first to acknowledge this, especially as it relates to the oppression of women.
And this is a great short story, by the way.
February 3, 2021
every story where a man gets what he deserves is a story i enjoy reading
February 24, 2023
I should re read Their eyes Were Watching God. Its been about 15 years since I read that book.
September 23, 2017
Sweat was a very enjoyable read. It's pretty short, but I have to say it was really difficult because of the slang. I struggled a lot with it actually, but it was a good experience. Here is my full literary analysis for English 1101.
Holli Anderson
Professor Uralrith
English 1101
Literary analysis
6 October 2016
The Genius of Sweat
Sweat is highly regarded as a story of domestic violence, oppression, and abuse that empowers most anyone who reads it. Zora Neale Hurston pulled from her past experiences as she pours her sweat into her writing and creates the beautiful and empowering narrative, Sweat. Hurston’s writing has been an influence for decades and, in this particular piece of work, encourages women to liberate themselves from abusive situations. When writing, Hurston uses three techniques of good writing; figurative language, imagery, and the juiciest of irony, bringing her story to life.
Figurative language is a method of writing that brings everyday speech to the next level and, when utilized correctly, can convey a deeper meaning in just a few exaggerated phrases. The first example of figurative language in Hurston’s Sweat is when she personifies Sykes’ bull whip, using the word “slither” to create the idea of movement in the reader’s imagination. Giving the whip qualities that it shouldn’t have, such as slithering, makes the reader think that it might be a snake, creating useful suspense and drawing the reader in. The second example of figurative language is a metaphor, spoken by the main character, Delia, when talking about her husband. In the scene, Delia is frustrated with the state of her marriage and her husband’s abuse, saying “whatever goes over the Devil’s back, is got to come under his belly” (Hurston 3). The meaning of this metaphor, put simply, is that whoever takes the easy path will eventually be burdened by that choice. The metaphor is very important to developing Delia as a character because it establishes even further that she is a religious woman. Figurative language can be an important part of writing to create suspense and develop characters while keeping the reader’s attention by making them think of the meaning behind certain phrases and keeping them engaged in the story.
Another technique used by Hurston is imagery, the use of details that appeal to the senses to further connect readers to the story. A fantastic example of imagery is on page four, when Merchant begins talking about how Sykes had been trying to court his wife by giving her a basket of pecans. Merchant recalls his wife telling Sykes to give them to Delia because she “…works so hard ovah dat washtub she reckon everything on de place taste lak sweat an’ soapsuds” (4). This quote is important because it not only reiterates the common correlation of working hard and sweating, but also creates powerful imagery that appeals to one’s taste. By telling one that Delia probably only tastes sweat and soapsuds anymore, it allows the reader to pause and imagine that taste to relate further to the main character. A second occurrence of imagery is on page eight during Sykes’ battle with the rattle snake he captured, but seen from Delia’s point of view. It is very important that the battle is told form Delia’s point of view because it focuses only on sound, rather than relying on sight or being overwhelmed with all the senses that might have happened had the scene taken place from Sykes’ vantage point. Delia describes how confusing the snakes rattling can be as “His whirr sounds to the right, to the left, straight ahead, behind, close under foot--everywhere but where it is” (8). This usage of imagery creates powerful suspense in the scene; readers become curious and anxious as to what will happen to Sykes if he is confused by the direction of the sound. Only focusing on one sense at a time when using imagery can be smart and really help an author like Hurston to get a message across to the reader and create suspense in an important scene.
The last technique to focus on is irony. Across the span of the entire story, it is heavily mentioned that Sykes is attracted to larger women with a heavier build. The irony created by stating this in multiple places is when Delia is mentioned to be very slender and of small stature, as mentioned by Sykes himself. It is ironic that Sykes would marry a woman that is the exact opposite of the body type he is attracted to and it seems that this is partially the fuel for his abuse of Delia, though it is not outright stated in the narrative. The reason for his marriage to Delia is speculated by other minor characters who suspect that it is only because no other woman would accept his advances. A second example of irony is toward the end of the story on page nine when it is heavily implied that Sykes died from the snake bite he received. The snake bite itself is ironic because Sykes had brought the snake inside in the first place and had claimed to be a snake charmer to many of the village’s occupants, even claiming to be the only one that knows how to handle the most dangerous snakes. The implication of death not only amplifies the irony of the corresponding rattle snake bite, but also gives the narrative a satisfying ending, in which the reader can imagine that Delia got her house to herself and had a better life after Sykes supposed passing. Irony is a powerful tool that gives most readers a sense of satisfaction in seeing the phrase “What goes around, comes around” in action.
To conclude, Zora Neal Hurston’s short story Sweat, is a tale of abuse and domestic violence that uses figurative language, imagery, and irony to convey a strong message of empowerment. Using the three tools above, Hurston has created not only a powerful story, but an experience; a chance to step back into life back then. She creates suspense, successful character development, and satisfying endings to ensure that her work is enjoyable and memorable, which it no doubt is to this day. Zora Neal Hurston’s work has been and will be regarded throughout history as some of the most influential writing in American history.
Holli Anderson
Professor Uralrith
English 1101
Literary analysis
6 October 2016
The Genius of Sweat
Sweat is highly regarded as a story of domestic violence, oppression, and abuse that empowers most anyone who reads it. Zora Neale Hurston pulled from her past experiences as she pours her sweat into her writing and creates the beautiful and empowering narrative, Sweat. Hurston’s writing has been an influence for decades and, in this particular piece of work, encourages women to liberate themselves from abusive situations. When writing, Hurston uses three techniques of good writing; figurative language, imagery, and the juiciest of irony, bringing her story to life.
Figurative language is a method of writing that brings everyday speech to the next level and, when utilized correctly, can convey a deeper meaning in just a few exaggerated phrases. The first example of figurative language in Hurston’s Sweat is when she personifies Sykes’ bull whip, using the word “slither” to create the idea of movement in the reader’s imagination. Giving the whip qualities that it shouldn’t have, such as slithering, makes the reader think that it might be a snake, creating useful suspense and drawing the reader in. The second example of figurative language is a metaphor, spoken by the main character, Delia, when talking about her husband. In the scene, Delia is frustrated with the state of her marriage and her husband’s abuse, saying “whatever goes over the Devil’s back, is got to come under his belly” (Hurston 3). The meaning of this metaphor, put simply, is that whoever takes the easy path will eventually be burdened by that choice. The metaphor is very important to developing Delia as a character because it establishes even further that she is a religious woman. Figurative language can be an important part of writing to create suspense and develop characters while keeping the reader’s attention by making them think of the meaning behind certain phrases and keeping them engaged in the story.
Another technique used by Hurston is imagery, the use of details that appeal to the senses to further connect readers to the story. A fantastic example of imagery is on page four, when Merchant begins talking about how Sykes had been trying to court his wife by giving her a basket of pecans. Merchant recalls his wife telling Sykes to give them to Delia because she “…works so hard ovah dat washtub she reckon everything on de place taste lak sweat an’ soapsuds” (4). This quote is important because it not only reiterates the common correlation of working hard and sweating, but also creates powerful imagery that appeals to one’s taste. By telling one that Delia probably only tastes sweat and soapsuds anymore, it allows the reader to pause and imagine that taste to relate further to the main character. A second occurrence of imagery is on page eight during Sykes’ battle with the rattle snake he captured, but seen from Delia’s point of view. It is very important that the battle is told form Delia’s point of view because it focuses only on sound, rather than relying on sight or being overwhelmed with all the senses that might have happened had the scene taken place from Sykes’ vantage point. Delia describes how confusing the snakes rattling can be as “His whirr sounds to the right, to the left, straight ahead, behind, close under foot--everywhere but where it is” (8). This usage of imagery creates powerful suspense in the scene; readers become curious and anxious as to what will happen to Sykes if he is confused by the direction of the sound. Only focusing on one sense at a time when using imagery can be smart and really help an author like Hurston to get a message across to the reader and create suspense in an important scene.
The last technique to focus on is irony. Across the span of the entire story, it is heavily mentioned that Sykes is attracted to larger women with a heavier build. The irony created by stating this in multiple places is when Delia is mentioned to be very slender and of small stature, as mentioned by Sykes himself. It is ironic that Sykes would marry a woman that is the exact opposite of the body type he is attracted to and it seems that this is partially the fuel for his abuse of Delia, though it is not outright stated in the narrative. The reason for his marriage to Delia is speculated by other minor characters who suspect that it is only because no other woman would accept his advances. A second example of irony is toward the end of the story on page nine when it is heavily implied that Sykes died from the snake bite he received. The snake bite itself is ironic because Sykes had brought the snake inside in the first place and had claimed to be a snake charmer to many of the village’s occupants, even claiming to be the only one that knows how to handle the most dangerous snakes. The implication of death not only amplifies the irony of the corresponding rattle snake bite, but also gives the narrative a satisfying ending, in which the reader can imagine that Delia got her house to herself and had a better life after Sykes supposed passing. Irony is a powerful tool that gives most readers a sense of satisfaction in seeing the phrase “What goes around, comes around” in action.
To conclude, Zora Neal Hurston’s short story Sweat, is a tale of abuse and domestic violence that uses figurative language, imagery, and irony to convey a strong message of empowerment. Using the three tools above, Hurston has created not only a powerful story, but an experience; a chance to step back into life back then. She creates suspense, successful character development, and satisfying endings to ensure that her work is enjoyable and memorable, which it no doubt is to this day. Zora Neal Hurston’s work has been and will be regarded throughout history as some of the most influential writing in American history.
April 27, 2018
When I signed up to take American Lit II, I figured I was in for a semester filled with great old white men literature and maybe a woman or two thrown in for good measure. I was pleasantly surprised when I read the syllabus was a good mixture of men, women, and people of color. I was particularly delighted to see Zora Neale Hurtson on the list.
I read Their Eyes Were Watching God at bible camp when I was a teenager. It was one of the five or six books I brought to camp with me that year, and I remember being completely engaged in it. I would sit during our mandated downtime (aka nap time) and read it with my flashlight. It did not feel like a novel written in the 1930s. Instead, it felt remarkably modern and fresh, and I was invested in Janie’s story.
Everything I enjoyed about Their Eyes Were Watching God is present in her earlier short story, Sweat. Sweat tells the story of Delia, a woman with an abusive and philandering husband who values the home she has worked for and created above anything else. Her husband tries to get her out of the house by bringing in a snake, an animal she is afraid of. That’s as much plot summary I think anyone needs because the plot is not what is interesting about Sweat as a short story.
Hurston is a master of language and dialectic. For some readers, her shift between AAVE and more traditional narration can be jarring, but I think it is masterfully done. It is clear she is thinking about how the world she knows sounds, and it lends her work a very clear point of view. I also think she succeeds at portraying the struggles of her female characters in a real and human way. My professor argued that Hurston occasionally veers into caricatures in some of her characters, but I would argue that the women of her stories are usually richly drawn.
As a short story, Sweat is complex and immensely satisfying. As an introduction for some to the work of Hurston, I think it gives a good taste of what she does and what she’s good at. Recommended!
I read Their Eyes Were Watching God at bible camp when I was a teenager. It was one of the five or six books I brought to camp with me that year, and I remember being completely engaged in it. I would sit during our mandated downtime (aka nap time) and read it with my flashlight. It did not feel like a novel written in the 1930s. Instead, it felt remarkably modern and fresh, and I was invested in Janie’s story.
Everything I enjoyed about Their Eyes Were Watching God is present in her earlier short story, Sweat. Sweat tells the story of Delia, a woman with an abusive and philandering husband who values the home she has worked for and created above anything else. Her husband tries to get her out of the house by bringing in a snake, an animal she is afraid of. That’s as much plot summary I think anyone needs because the plot is not what is interesting about Sweat as a short story.
Hurston is a master of language and dialectic. For some readers, her shift between AAVE and more traditional narration can be jarring, but I think it is masterfully done. It is clear she is thinking about how the world she knows sounds, and it lends her work a very clear point of view. I also think she succeeds at portraying the struggles of her female characters in a real and human way. My professor argued that Hurston occasionally veers into caricatures in some of her characters, but I would argue that the women of her stories are usually richly drawn.
As a short story, Sweat is complex and immensely satisfying. As an introduction for some to the work of Hurston, I think it gives a good taste of what she does and what she’s good at. Recommended!
July 5, 2010
Zora Neale Hurston’s “Sweat” is a distressing tale of human struggle. The story begins as a black hardworking washwoman named Delia contently and peacefully folds clothes in her quite home. Her peace doesn’t last long when her abusive husband shows up just in time to put her back in her ill-treated place. Delia has been taking this abuse for some fifteen years. She has put up with relentless beatings, adultery, even six foot long venomous snakes put in places she needs to get to. Her husband’s vindictive acts of torment and the way he has selfishly used her can only be described as evil. In the end this leaves the hardworking woman no choice but to make the most difficult decision of her life. That is, to either stand up for herself and let her husband expire; or to continue to be a victim. The author suggests that if a person does not stand up for them self then they will only have them self to blame.
December 7, 2022
My review is for another edition, HERE.
Read
December 12, 20228/10
January 28, 2024
Book club discussion about this was way better than the story itself.
November 10, 2025
Very good, Fuck Sykes and I Love Delia know a lot of women like her, Im glad they could get a happy ending by proxy from her.
January 12, 2023
One thing that remains to be true irrespective of time is that a man might not have a job or status, nothing to himself but his name, but he will always have audacity!
For those who haven’t read this or don’t necessarily intend to, I’ll sum up (spoil) the story of Zora Neale Hurston’s Sweat.
In short, Delia works tirelessly as a wash woman for white folks. She's spent every week toiling over the washboard for the 15 years she and her husband Sykes been married. Sykes is a bum. He doesn’t lift a finger to help Delia with the work or care for their home. All of that is beneath him. And for 15 years, though she’s the one keeping them afloat, he’s been abusing her all this time, taking great pleasure in breaking her down. Before Sykes, Delia was a heavily desired, soft-flesh woman with a strong spirit. But she’s less of what she was and sharpened by the years of wear from the washing, rougher to take all the abuse Sykes with both mouth and body throws onto her. In addition to all this fuckery, Sykes is also openly cheating on Delia with a woman named Bertha (old names are so funny).
It’s all so awful, but the dynamic shifts, when Delia recovers some of her former spirit and pulls a skillet against Sykes to stop his abuse. She thinks he's done, but those familiar with abuse know that abusers don’t cow easily. When they are threatened they always do something to reassert power. In the beginning, he tormented Delia by throwing his snake-like bullwhip on her. He knows Delia is deathly afraid of even worms. Snakes are non-negotiable. This time he brings a six-foot rattlesnake into Delia’s house, which he reveals to her by having Delia open up the seemingly unmenacing box. It pleases him that she’s scared, wants it gone, and that the snake will be there to torment her every day because he won't get rid of it. There’s no more she can do about that snake than she can do about him. They both aren’t leaving anytime soon.
He’s like the Devil except he’s ugly, broke, and unemployed.
Now Joe Clarke, a character in the story, succinctly defines this nature of abuse.
The synopsis defines Sykes as insecure, but he’s more than that, he’s entirely pathetic. There’s nothing he has going for himself other than he married one of the most attractive girls in their town fifteen years ago, and has been hanging onto her like a tick ever since. He pretends to be more, going around town with his mistresses, beating his wife without reproach, and having her support him through it all. And he gets especially bold after getting that damn snake, inviting folks to Delia’s house to see it. He boasts he’s a snake charmer and that the snake listens to no one but him.
One day, Delia comes home to work again, and finds the snake in the hamper, instead of its cage. She runs away to hay outside, a barn, and sleeps there. Sykes comes home late and it's a dark morning in the house. But he can’t find any matches for light (Delia used the last match for a lamp when she saw the snake out the cage; Sykes used them all, bought no more like the worthless man he is). He finds out quickly that the snake is free but unlike Delia, he has to fight him in the dark.
He calls for Delia who, paralyzed by fear, doesn’t come. But she hears the attacks, the screams, all of it outside their bedroom window. When it all ends, she opens the front door to find Sykes crawling to her, barely, neck swollen, one eye still open. He begs for help but there is nothing she can do. And she watches as he dies from his own arrogance because the tool of his abuse against her turned on him in one of the most satisfying instances of divine justice.
The greatest thing about Sweat is that Hurston is not unkind. She won’t let hard work go to waste. Forget whatever bullshit narratives about the "harsh reality of statistics" and the misogyny that keeps writers, filmmakers, and such from exploring endings where women, especially black women, are vindicated instead of brutalized without relief. For all that Delia and readers have suffered (the dialect was harsh on my eyes, Zora you ain’t have to write every single word like that!) we get justice. Delia gets her home back, her life back, and the pathetic bum gets the fast pass to hell. There's nothing better than an abuser getting what they deserve and nothing less. Truly a happy ever after.
For those who haven’t read this or don’t necessarily intend to, I’ll sum up (spoil) the story of Zora Neale Hurston’s Sweat.
In short, Delia works tirelessly as a wash woman for white folks. She's spent every week toiling over the washboard for the 15 years she and her husband Sykes been married. Sykes is a bum. He doesn’t lift a finger to help Delia with the work or care for their home. All of that is beneath him. And for 15 years, though she’s the one keeping them afloat, he’s been abusing her all this time, taking great pleasure in breaking her down. Before Sykes, Delia was a heavily desired, soft-flesh woman with a strong spirit. But she’s less of what she was and sharpened by the years of wear from the washing, rougher to take all the abuse Sykes with both mouth and body throws onto her. In addition to all this fuckery, Sykes is also openly cheating on Delia with a woman named Bertha (old names are so funny).
It’s all so awful, but the dynamic shifts, when Delia recovers some of her former spirit and pulls a skillet against Sykes to stop his abuse. She thinks he's done, but those familiar with abuse know that abusers don’t cow easily. When they are threatened they always do something to reassert power. In the beginning, he tormented Delia by throwing his snake-like bullwhip on her. He knows Delia is deathly afraid of even worms. Snakes are non-negotiable. This time he brings a six-foot rattlesnake into Delia’s house, which he reveals to her by having Delia open up the seemingly unmenacing box. It pleases him that she’s scared, wants it gone, and that the snake will be there to torment her every day because he won't get rid of it. There’s no more she can do about that snake than she can do about him. They both aren’t leaving anytime soon.
He’s like the Devil except he’s ugly, broke, and unemployed.
Now Joe Clarke, a character in the story, succinctly defines this nature of abuse.
“There’s plenty men dat takes a wife lak dey do a joint uh sugar-cane. It’s round, juicy an’ sweet when dey gits it. But dey squeeze an’ grind, squeeze an’ grind an’ wring tell dey wring every drop uh pleasure dat’s in ’em out. When dey’s satisfied dat dey is wrung dry, dey treats ’em jes lak dey do a cane-chew. Dey throws em away. Dey knows whut dey is doin’ while dey is at it, an’ hates theirselves fuh it but they keeps on hangin’ after huh tell she’s empty. Den dey hates huh fuh bein’ a cane-chew an’ in de way.”
The synopsis defines Sykes as insecure, but he’s more than that, he’s entirely pathetic. There’s nothing he has going for himself other than he married one of the most attractive girls in their town fifteen years ago, and has been hanging onto her like a tick ever since. He pretends to be more, going around town with his mistresses, beating his wife without reproach, and having her support him through it all. And he gets especially bold after getting that damn snake, inviting folks to Delia’s house to see it. He boasts he’s a snake charmer and that the snake listens to no one but him.
One day, Delia comes home to work again, and finds the snake in the hamper, instead of its cage. She runs away to hay outside, a barn, and sleeps there. Sykes comes home late and it's a dark morning in the house. But he can’t find any matches for light (Delia used the last match for a lamp when she saw the snake out the cage; Sykes used them all, bought no more like the worthless man he is). He finds out quickly that the snake is free but unlike Delia, he has to fight him in the dark.
He calls for Delia who, paralyzed by fear, doesn’t come. But she hears the attacks, the screams, all of it outside their bedroom window. When it all ends, she opens the front door to find Sykes crawling to her, barely, neck swollen, one eye still open. He begs for help but there is nothing she can do. And she watches as he dies from his own arrogance because the tool of his abuse against her turned on him in one of the most satisfying instances of divine justice.
The greatest thing about Sweat is that Hurston is not unkind. She won’t let hard work go to waste. Forget whatever bullshit narratives about the "harsh reality of statistics" and the misogyny that keeps writers, filmmakers, and such from exploring endings where women, especially black women, are vindicated instead of brutalized without relief. For all that Delia and readers have suffered (the dialect was harsh on my eyes, Zora you ain’t have to write every single word like that!) we get justice. Delia gets her home back, her life back, and the pathetic bum gets the fast pass to hell. There's nothing better than an abuser getting what they deserve and nothing less. Truly a happy ever after.
November 21, 2015
A short story into the world of a woman's strength; I think of it as a view into a world through Ms. ZNH's clear eyes. A world in which a black woman works hard for her home and invests her future with everything she's got; namely sweat.
This short story is how I first met Zora Neale Hurston, and I've loved her ever since.
This short story is how I first met Zora Neale Hurston, and I've loved her ever since.
Want to read
July 9, 20183* Their Eyes Were Watching God
TR Sweat
TR Dust Tracks on a Road
TR Sweat
TR Dust Tracks on a Road
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