"Sweating Away Marriage" Nasya Quinn Professor Ayewoh ENG 3019-02 10/10/25
I’m an awesome subtitle, ideal for giving more context about the topic at hand
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Thesis
In "Sweat" by Zora Neale Hurston, we see the fallacy of marriage explored through Delia and Skyes relationship. Skyes' use of abuse, the townsmen's complicity in Delia' abuse, and cultural concepts about marriage/divorce result in Delia saving herself from a slow killing trap.
"According to the Census' Historical Marriage Trends from 1890-2010, Black marriage rates were highest in the early 20th century, with Black men and women married in greater proportions than white men and women (Williams)"
False History about the Black Family
Many Black conservatives, including Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, argue the strength of the Black family unit and Black marriages were stronger during the early 20th century. During the early 20th century, Black people were living through tumultous times aided by post-Reconstruction Jim Crow. Hurston's "Sweat" illuminates the personal and systemic battering a Black married women could endure in the 1920s. Unofortunately, we see Delia's obstacles are not very different to those of comtemporary women.
Here you can include arelevant fact to highlight
+ info
Abuse and Power in Marriage
Using Hallenbeck's anaylsis of power dynamics in marriage we see that Skyes was not truly powerful in his and Delia's marriage, but his own zealousness and Delia's timidness allowed for Skyes to turn their union into an exploitative capital venture.
Hallenbeck's contemporaries note true martial power rests in three resources:
- Economic contributions
- Attractiveness (personal/physical)
- Competency, specifically in task completion
These qualities are not present in Skyes, but instead in Delia. So in spite of Skyes' coercive power and her "meekness", Delia is the true stakeholder in this marriage.
One of the main powers Skyes' uses against Delia is coercive. According to Hallenback, corercive power is the ability to punish the weaker partner by a more powerful one.- "In the lower classes, physical abuse may also be a decisive factor" (Hallenbeck 3).Skyes also engages in verbal, psychological, and spiritual abuse, tactics used to violently coerce Delia in being subservient to him, lest she face brutal consequences.
1. "Some day Ah'm gointuh drop dead from some of yo' foolishness. 'Nother thing, where you been wid mah rig? Ah feed dat pony. He aint fuh you to be driving' wid no bull whip" (Hurston 1022).
2. "He [Skyes] useter eat some mighty big hunks uh humble pie tuh git dat lil 'oman he got. She wuz ez pritty ez a speckled pup! Dat wuz fifteen years ago"(Hurston 1025).
"Don't gimme no lip neither, else Ah'll throw 'em out and put mah fist up side yo' head to boot" (Hurston 1023).
3. "The week was as full of work for Delia as all other weeks, and Saturday found her behind her little pony, collcting and delivering clothes" (Hurston 1024).
+ info
Societal Complicity
Outside of Delia and Skyes, the only characters in this story are the men in town who interject in Sweat to provide exposition and context surrounding Delia and Skyes' history. They admit their aware of Delia's physical abuse, and while they chatter amongst themselves about killing him, as soon as he appears with his girlfriend, the men depart quietly. This scene highlights the loud mouth of society against the mistreatment of women, but the repressed fear of confronting and squashing the status quo.
"Too much knockin' will ruin any 'oma. He done beat huh 'nough tuh kill three women, let 'lone change they looks" (Hurston 1024).
"We oughter take Skye an' dat stray 'oman uh his'n down in Lake Howell swamp an' lay on de rawhide till they cain't say Lawd a' mussy" (Hurston 1025).
+ info
Religious conceptions of marriage allow for "legitmate power", the belief the more powerful party has the right to control the weaker party, to flourish.
Religious Ideation of Marriage
"Sometime or ruther, Skyes, like everybody else, is gointer reap his sowing. After that she was able to build a spiritual earthworks against her husband" (Hurston 1024).
Within "Sweat", we see that Delia and Skyes' marriage was never truly happy since its inception. Despite this, Delia stays in her marriage for 15 years. While abuse has kept Delia caught in this unloving matrimony, Delia's faith in Christianity is another factor which influences her to stay.
"Delia's work-worn knees crawled over the earth in Gethsemane and up the rocks of Calvary many, many times during these months" (Hurston 1026)
"Hil points out several cultural factors contributing to male dominance, namely the cultural defintions of masculinity and feminity, the legal tradition of husband as "family head", and the Judeo-Christian concept of the superiority of the husband"(Hallenbeck 3).
+ info
Conclusion
Due to an outside, somewhat mystic force, Delia was able to escape her martial entrapment. For many women at that time, and now, their vows may result living a life in inferiority. As Christian extremism rises so does this ideological return to "traditional" family values. But in a violent, sexist society how can women adequately thrive in these spiritual, legal, and monetary unions without the risk of being caught in the dark clutches of suffocating oppression? Hurston ascertained that after 15 years of sweating away the arduous days of mistreatment that serpent shaped retribution finally rids Delia of her abuser. Will modern women wait that long? Do some of us have a choice?
Citations
- Elliott, Diana, et al. Historical Marriage Trends from 1890- 2010: A Focus on Race Differences. 2012.
- Hallenbeck, Phyllis N. "An Analysis of Power Dynamic in Marriage." Journal of Marriage and Family, vol. 28, no. 2, May 1966, pp. 200-203
- Williams, Quintessa L. "Tale of Two Truths: How Black Families Fared During Jim Crow." Medium.com
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Digital Essay - Nasya Quinn
Nasya Quinn
Created on October 13, 2025
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Transcript
"Sweating Away Marriage" Nasya Quinn Professor Ayewoh ENG 3019-02 10/10/25
I’m an awesome subtitle, ideal for giving more context about the topic at hand
go!
Thesis
In "Sweat" by Zora Neale Hurston, we see the fallacy of marriage explored through Delia and Skyes relationship. Skyes' use of abuse, the townsmen's complicity in Delia' abuse, and cultural concepts about marriage/divorce result in Delia saving herself from a slow killing trap.
"According to the Census' Historical Marriage Trends from 1890-2010, Black marriage rates were highest in the early 20th century, with Black men and women married in greater proportions than white men and women (Williams)"
False History about the Black Family
Many Black conservatives, including Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, argue the strength of the Black family unit and Black marriages were stronger during the early 20th century. During the early 20th century, Black people were living through tumultous times aided by post-Reconstruction Jim Crow. Hurston's "Sweat" illuminates the personal and systemic battering a Black married women could endure in the 1920s. Unofortunately, we see Delia's obstacles are not very different to those of comtemporary women.
Here you can include arelevant fact to highlight
+ info
Abuse and Power in Marriage
Using Hallenbeck's anaylsis of power dynamics in marriage we see that Skyes was not truly powerful in his and Delia's marriage, but his own zealousness and Delia's timidness allowed for Skyes to turn their union into an exploitative capital venture.
Hallenbeck's contemporaries note true martial power rests in three resources:
- Economic contributions
- Attractiveness (personal/physical)
- Competency, specifically in task completion
These qualities are not present in Skyes, but instead in Delia. So in spite of Skyes' coercive power and her "meekness", Delia is the true stakeholder in this marriage.One of the main powers Skyes' uses against Delia is coercive. According to Hallenback, corercive power is the ability to punish the weaker partner by a more powerful one.- "In the lower classes, physical abuse may also be a decisive factor" (Hallenbeck 3).Skyes also engages in verbal, psychological, and spiritual abuse, tactics used to violently coerce Delia in being subservient to him, lest she face brutal consequences.
1. "Some day Ah'm gointuh drop dead from some of yo' foolishness. 'Nother thing, where you been wid mah rig? Ah feed dat pony. He aint fuh you to be driving' wid no bull whip" (Hurston 1022).
2. "He [Skyes] useter eat some mighty big hunks uh humble pie tuh git dat lil 'oman he got. She wuz ez pritty ez a speckled pup! Dat wuz fifteen years ago"(Hurston 1025).
"Don't gimme no lip neither, else Ah'll throw 'em out and put mah fist up side yo' head to boot" (Hurston 1023).
3. "The week was as full of work for Delia as all other weeks, and Saturday found her behind her little pony, collcting and delivering clothes" (Hurston 1024).
+ info
Societal Complicity
Outside of Delia and Skyes, the only characters in this story are the men in town who interject in Sweat to provide exposition and context surrounding Delia and Skyes' history. They admit their aware of Delia's physical abuse, and while they chatter amongst themselves about killing him, as soon as he appears with his girlfriend, the men depart quietly. This scene highlights the loud mouth of society against the mistreatment of women, but the repressed fear of confronting and squashing the status quo.
"Too much knockin' will ruin any 'oma. He done beat huh 'nough tuh kill three women, let 'lone change they looks" (Hurston 1024).
"We oughter take Skye an' dat stray 'oman uh his'n down in Lake Howell swamp an' lay on de rawhide till they cain't say Lawd a' mussy" (Hurston 1025).
+ info
Religious conceptions of marriage allow for "legitmate power", the belief the more powerful party has the right to control the weaker party, to flourish.
Religious Ideation of Marriage
"Sometime or ruther, Skyes, like everybody else, is gointer reap his sowing. After that she was able to build a spiritual earthworks against her husband" (Hurston 1024).
Within "Sweat", we see that Delia and Skyes' marriage was never truly happy since its inception. Despite this, Delia stays in her marriage for 15 years. While abuse has kept Delia caught in this unloving matrimony, Delia's faith in Christianity is another factor which influences her to stay.
"Delia's work-worn knees crawled over the earth in Gethsemane and up the rocks of Calvary many, many times during these months" (Hurston 1026)
"Hil points out several cultural factors contributing to male dominance, namely the cultural defintions of masculinity and feminity, the legal tradition of husband as "family head", and the Judeo-Christian concept of the superiority of the husband"(Hallenbeck 3).
+ info
Conclusion
Due to an outside, somewhat mystic force, Delia was able to escape her martial entrapment. For many women at that time, and now, their vows may result living a life in inferiority. As Christian extremism rises so does this ideological return to "traditional" family values. But in a violent, sexist society how can women adequately thrive in these spiritual, legal, and monetary unions without the risk of being caught in the dark clutches of suffocating oppression? Hurston ascertained that after 15 years of sweating away the arduous days of mistreatment that serpent shaped retribution finally rids Delia of her abuser. Will modern women wait that long? Do some of us have a choice?
Citations
Got an idea?
Let the communication flow!
With Genially templates, you can include visual resources to wow your audience. You can also highlight a particular sentence or piece of information so that it sticks in your audience’s minds, or even embed external content to surprise them: Whatever you like! Do you need more reasons to create dynamic content? No problem! 90% of the information we assimilate is received through sight and, what’s more, we retain 42% more information when the content moves.