Sweat

Hurston’s fiction often depicts relationships, including the harsh, unfair, or abusive treatment women face from the men in their lives. In “Sweat,” abuse is directly discussed and clearly condemned. Hurston depicts the marriage falling apart, and the narrative leaves no doubt that this is Sykes’s fault: His abusive and callous treatment of his wife destroyed their marriage, and the trap he sets to scare Delia away—or perhaps even kill her—is the very thing that kills him and sets her free.

The narrative’s depiction of domestic violence is multilayered, addressing not only physical abuse but also verbal abuse, emotional abuse via infidelity, and financial abuse or control, apparent in Sykes’s “freeloading.” The story also highlights how abuse is tolerated in society, even by those who think it is wrong. The men at the store strongly condemn Sykes and his behavior, even to the point of musing about killing him. However, they never express their misgivings directly to Sykes or act against him. In depicting their passivity, Huston demonstrates how abuse survivors are so often failed by their communities, whether due to inaction or lack of other recourse, and how difficult it can be for anyone to confront an abuser.

Sykes’s use of physical violence to control or intimidate Delia may stem from a sense of impotence, since he cannot control her financially or be the primary breadwinner, a traditionally masculine role. However, the story does not explain why he is unable to work or earn his own money. Instead, it is implied that he is merely taking advantage, abusing his “authority” as husband to exploit his wife’s hard work.

The story follows the couple’s disintegrating relationship until the conflict turns fatal—finally granting Delia complete autonomy and independence. In this story, as in many of her others, Hurston explores what it takes for women to break free of demoralizing, exploitative, abusive, and other dangerous situations. She also explores the aftermath of breaking free, which does not automatically equate to a happy ending. Though Delia gains independence, the story’s melancholy conclusion raises questions about her culpability in Sykes’s death and about whether violence, even if passive, is ever justified. This ambiguity reflects the reality of traumatic situations, which have consequences that endure into the future.

Hurston’s work—both her scholarly work and her fiction—is known for exploring or cataloging the Black experience. “Sweat” is set in 1920s Florida, and thus in the segregated South. Delia’s work is physically taxing and time consuming, and it gains further nuance because she works for white families. Hurston’s stories are often set in all-Black communities, with white characters absent or appearing only briefly to drive the plot. This narrative choice was likely influenced by Hurston’s childhood in Eatonville, Florida, an all-African American town where she had few interactions with white people or racism until she was nearly a teenager. Hurston believed it was important and positive to focus on Black communities themselves.

In “Sweat,” Delia’s white customers are only briefly mentioned and make no actual appearances in the story. However, the fact that Delia’s work takes place in a segregated community is key to the tale (and to Hurston’s efforts to always present realistic communities in her fiction). The very brief but powerful mention of this dynamic—seen in Sykes’s anger at the white people’s laundry being in the house—emphasizes that racial divisions take a heavy toll on the characters. Sykes leverages his anger to attack Delia, but his frustration seems genuine. Sykes tells Delia that he will no longer put up with it and notes that he has told other men in the community that he will no longer allow it in the house. This public declaration indicates his shame that his wife’s work earns his keep and the social pains caused by racism. Though Sykes’s behavior is reprehensible, his dissatisfaction with the economic inequality of the Jim Crow South is one of his few valid and understandable complaints.

Consequently, some readers note that racial oppression may play a role in Sykes’s abusive behavior. Although Hurston does not directly address this in the narrative, the fact of racial oppression and segregation is always present in her fiction. At the same time, the other Black men in the story condemn his domestic abuse and offer no excuses for Sykes’s actions, demonstrating that the issues of race within the text are more complex and nuanced than they may first appear.