Excerpts from "Sweat" by Zora Neale Hurston

She lay awake, gazing upon the debris that cluttered their matromonial trial. Not an image left standing along the way. Anything like flowers had long ago been drowned in the salty stream that had been pressed from her heart. Her tears, her sweat, her blood. She brought love to the union and he had brought a longing after the flesh. Two months after the wedding, he had given her the first brutal beating. She had the memory of his numerous trips to Orlando with all of his wages when he had returned to her penniless, even before the first year had passed. She was young and soft then, but now she thought of her knotty, muscled limbs, her harsh knuckly hands, and drew herself up into an unhappy little ball in the middle of the others....

....Somehow, before sleep came, she found herself saying aloud:" Oh well, whatever goes over the Devil's back, is got to come under his belly. Sometime or ruther, Sykes, like everybody else, is gointer reap his sowing....

Clarke spoke for the first time. "Taint no law on earth dat kin make a man be decent if it aint in 'im. There's plenty men dat takes a wife lak dey do a joint uh sugarcane. It's round, juicy an' sweet when dey gits it. But dey squeeze an' grind, squeeze an' grind an' wring tell dey wring every drop uh pleasure dat's in 'em out. When dey's satified dat dey is wrung dry, dey treats 'em jes lak dey do a cane chew. Dey throw 'em away.

Dey knows whut dey is doin' while dey is at it, an' hates theirselves fuh it but they keeps on hangin' after heh tell she's empty. Den dey hates heh fuh bein' a cane chew an' in de way. "A whole lot Ah keer 'bout how you feels inside uh out. Dat snake aint goin' no damn wheah till Ah gits ready fuh 'im tuh go. So fur as beatin' is concerned, yuh aint took near all dat you gointer take ef yuh stay 'roun' me." (Sykes) Delia pushed back her plate and got up from the table. "Ah hates you, Sykes," she said calmly. "Ah hates you tuh de same degree dat Ah useter love yuh. Ah done took 'an took till mah belly is full up tuh mah neck. Dat's de reason Ah got mah letter fum de church an' moved mah membership tuh Woolbridge so Ah don't haftuh take no sacrement wid yuh. Ah don't wantuh see yuh 'roun' me atall. Lay 'roun' wid dat 'oman all yuh wants tuh, but gwan 'way fum me an' mah house. Ah hates yuh lak uh suck egg dog."

Sykes almost let the huge wad of cornbread and collard greens he was chewing fall out of his mouth in amazement. He had a hard time whipping himself up to the proper fury to answer Delia.

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