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'Sweat' is a short story by American writer Zora Neale Hurston, first published in literary magazine Fire!! in 1926. The story centres on Delia, a washerwoman in a small central Florida town. Delia's husband, Sykes, does not have a job and is abusive. He resents the fact that Delia has to wash the clothes of white people. He terrifies Delia by playing on her fear of snakes, and he beats her frequently, something which started two months after they were married. Delia decides she does not need Sykes in her life, while Sykes has decided to seek his freedom with his mistress Bertha. Sykes plots to kill Delia by hiding a rattlesnake in her washing basket. However, in a twist of fate, Sykes himself is bitten by the snake. As Sykes lies dying, Delia sits contemplatively under a chinaberry tree, ignoring Sykes' pleas for help, and waiting for him to die.
