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The protagonist of the story, Delia is a hard-working and methodical woman. She has paid for her house with her laundry business. She takes pride in her work, her house, and the gardens she has planted. However, at the beginning of the story, Delia is miserable and easily intimidated, trapped in a violent and abusive marriage. Although Sykes has been cruel to her for many years, it is not until the fight at the opening of the story that she begins to stand up to him. 

Over the course of the story, Delia transforms from a downtrodden wife to an independent woman. She takes steps towards emotionally separating from Sykes, insisting on her own right to the house and switching churches so that she can make a spiritual home apart from him. By the end of the story, Delia has become more truly independent of Sykes. She enjoys going to church without him and, rather than being afraid of his anger, takes steps to make her own life easier, such as sorting the laundry in the comfort of her bedroom. When she encounters the rattlesnake Sykes has let into the house to scare her away, she takes care to protect herself but does not flee the property. Instead, she rests in the comfort of the garden she has planted as the snake attacks Sykes, secure in her new understanding that he has brought his problems on himself.

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