Sykes refuses to help Delia, and indeed actively obstructs her in many ways, Delia can rely only on herself for her own survival, all while supporting Sykes as well by paying for their house, food, and other supplies.
Delia works constantly every day. The only form of relaxation she has is, she engages in the religious services on Saturdays. The difficulty of Delia's economic circumstances is only compounded by the physical and emotional abuse she endures from Sykes, from whom she no longer hopes for love.
The way Sykes treats Delia is not simply a matter of a bad marriage, but it shows his character. The author's impression, men treating women like pieces of sugarcane provides a way of understanding the dynamic between Sykes and Delia.
The foul odor that caused the narrator and Thompson to flee into the cold is the Limburger Cheese. Of course they thought it was the rotting corpse but the pine box did not contain a dead body, instead inside were a bunch of guns.