Character Analysis: Why Did Delia Stay In Abusive Relationship With Sykes

Why did Delia stay in an abusive relationship with Sykes?

Sweat is a fictional story that describes the abusive marriage between Delia and Sykes. In this short story, Delia is an African American woman who is married to an abusive African American man who is incapable of appreciating the hard work of his wife. Instead he chooses to be critical of his wife’s job and uses her fear of snakes to plot her murder when all of their conflict hits a boiling point. Although Delia never leaves Sykes, the marriage between them is never successful because of the mental and physical abuse that Sykes imposes on Delia. Delia stayed in her abusive relationship with her husband Sykes because Sykes was not always abusive. The abuse only started after two months of their marriage and she wanted to believe in the good times they previously had and she wanted to believe in him and their once found love. At the time of their marriage, divorce was not only embarrassing but also frowned upon. Delia and Sykes are married but their union in not based on love like it once was, it is based on cultural and family values as well as the hatred that ignites

They provide readers with 7 categories with each one having subcategories of why women feel trapped in abusive relationships. The ones that reflect Delia’s actions and decisions the most are that 1. she may be around of what Sykes might do is she leaves, 2. she may feel isolated, attachment due to their previous love and bond, 3. she has nothing but hope and faith so she may hope that their relationship will go back to the way it used to be and has hope in the power of God, 4. she may feel as though it is her job to take care of him especially because he is financially dependent on her, and 5. her culture makes her feel like her value roots from her