Delia Jones

Set in the 1920s American southern state of Florida, Delia Jones, an African American working class wife, lives a life full of brutality. As a woman, she is a victim of an abusive husband in a culture where no one steps in to define females. During the early 20th century, society expects women to defer to men and be subordinate to men. In Zora Neale Hurston’s “Sweat”, the fictional short story alienates Delia from society due to her gender which highlights the masculinity during the 1920s, the assumed weakness of working class women, and the expectation that women were supposed to be discriminated.
Shortly after her marriage, Delia recieves the rude awakening how powerless she is in society, especially while being with Sykes. Sykes is Delia’s
While faced with yet another argument between Sykes and Delia, Delia brings up the point that her “sweat is done paid for this house and Ah reckon Ah kin keep on sweatin’ in it” (Hurston 107). Delia is explaining how her work is the reason why they live in a house, which highlights the little to no work Sykes contributes to the couple. Delia also notes how she believes she will continue to work for the two, which shows the laziness characteristic in Sykes. Moreover, Joe Lindsay, another fellow townsperson, talks about how hard Delia works; “Hot or col’, rain or shine, jes’ez reg’lar ez de weeks roll roun’ Delia carries ‘em an’ fetches ‘em on Sat’day” (Hurston 107). Oddly, these men are respecting Delia, which is an unusual act in the 1920s due to the unequal gender roles. This significant gesture suggests that this society assumes that Sykes is a cruel, rude, and overall terrible person. Due to Delia’s hardworking personality, the community responds by praising her for her good
For example, while Delia is working, Sykes “stepped roughly upon the whitest pile of things, kicking them skelter as he crossed the room. [Delia] gave a little scream of dismay, and quickly gathered them together again” (Hurston 106). This insulting act reveals a huge division between sexes, which is women picking up after men. Society can acquire that women are only useful for cleaning and nothing else, highlighting the struggle women suffered during this time. Furthermore, when Delia tells Sykes how much of a hard worker she is, she “seized the iron skillet from the stove and struck a defensive pose, which act surprised [Sykes] greatly, coming from her” (Hurston 107). This gesture is considered risky for women in the 1920s since they were expected to be loyal to their husbands, which suggests that Delia simply did not care about society and its expectations. She differs from other women because of this new understanding, highlighting her independence. The way women were expected to act during the 1920s did not apply to Delia, which causes her to isolate from