Unlike the other African American writers of the period,
Zora Neale Hurston focuses on gender more than race. As the woman, Delia is the center
of the home, ultimately responsible for stereotypical female jobs: cooking and
cleaning. The first image of her is her bend over clothes as she "sorted and put the
white things to soak" on Sunday night. Sykes then moves into a stereotypical "male"
postion as he tries to enforce the rules of the household, telling her about her habit
of working ont he Sabbath, "Ah done promised Gawd and a coule of other men, Ah ain't
gointer have it in mah house." He tries to control her, and when the author says
"Delia's habitual meekness seemed to slip from her shoulders like a blown scarf," she
makes it clear that Delia usually allows Sykes to take that role as head of
household.
The men in town also see the world in terms of
men's work and women's work. Walkter Thomas points out that, "He useter be so skeered
uh losi' huh, she could make him do some parts of a husband's duty." This clearly
demonstrates that they believe that men and women both have particular roles to
fulfill.
Delia, however, has to learn to defend herself
when her husband fails to meet his obligations as her husband. Even the men in town
consider taking Sykes and the woman with whom he's cheating and laying "on de rawhide
till they cain't say Lawd a'mussy." However, Delia only turns to self-protection when
Sykes breaks the most basic "masculine" rule to protect the family. When she comes home
to find the snake out of the box, she felt "a new hope" that he had changed. Only after
she found the snake in her basket in a clear attempt to murder her did she decide to
allow Sykes to step into the trap.
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