Delia's Journey to Standing Up to Her Abusive Husband

The short story “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston is a story of a woman gradually gaining strength to stand up to her abusive husband. The passage that shows one of the first times she stood up to him is, “Delia’s habitual meekness seemed to slip from her shoulders like a blown scarf. She was on her feet; poor little body, her bare knuckly hands bravely defying the strapping hulk before her” (Hurston 560). Everyone in town considers her to be a weak woman who was beaten by her husband for far too long. Delia goes through a major change where she finds herself stronger than before, which leads to her standing up to Sykes.

“Delia’s habitual meekness…” (Hurston 560) shows that Delia has found a safe place in being weak. She found herself in a marriage without love and full of violence. She was aware of her husband cheating on her, yet she never said anything to him. Delia never stood up to him whenever he would beat or belittle her. She found a way to ignore him and go about her daily routine. Delia realized that her safe place was holding her back from her true potential. Shedding this part of her personality allowed her to grow into a stronger woman. The metaphor where she finally steps out of her shell is “Delia’s habitual meekness seemed to slip from her shoulders like a blown scarf” (Hurston 560). Once Delia finally abandons her habit of letting Sykes have his way, she stands up to him at several points of the story. For instance, when she grabbed a frying pan and struck a defensive pose or when she told Sykes to get the snake out of her house.

Even though she becomes stronger, Delia is still described as weak to Sykes. The passage uses “poor little baby” and “bare knuckly hands” to show that even if Delia stands up to Sykes she is still weak compared to him. The contrast of Sykes and Delia’s strength becomes even more apparent by describing Sykes as a “strapping hulk” (Hurston 560). This shows how much further Delia has grown. Delia is aware that she is still weaker than him, which just empowers her further. Being able to stand up to someone larger than her is a great feat, especially after the years of abuse.

Delia’s strength is emphasized by the description of her actions, “bravely defying the strapping hulk before her“ (Huston 560). She was brave enough to stand up to her husband after years of abuse. She knew that eventually, their marriage would fall apart because she knew exactly how Sykes is. She was aware that he would never change when she was certain of his affair. Delia knew that eventually Sykes would be unfaithful. Along the way, she discovered how strong she could be. She worked every day of the week to make her own money, and she even paid for everything herself. In her time, this was unusual because the man would normally take up the role of providing a stable income. Delia’s job only fueled her growth to be able to stand up to her husband.

Delia, through years of hard work, has gained strength and confidence to push herself to the next level. Sykes is threatened by her growth which becomes apparent how he walks out of the house or gets shocked whenever Delia talks back to him. He even goes as far as to get her back by bringing a deadly snake into their home. Delia survives her husband’s retaliation, but Sykes does not. Delia standing up to Sykes was the catalyst for her growing strength and Sykes’ death.

The story of Delia’s life is truly inspiring to women everywhere. Delia faces years of abuse so everyone believes that she is weak. Sykes was never afraid or threatened by her until she began standing up to him. Delia gained strength and confidence on her own. She realized her worth even after her husband cheated on her. Delia worked hard for everything that she owned on top of becoming more courageous. She worked every day of the week at a job her husband did not approve of, and she was the only person making a stable income. She owned the house and paid for everything because Sykes just wasted the money he had. Therefore, Delia goes through a major change which is the catalyst to her standing up to Sykes.