Essay On Mary Maloney Lamb To The Slaughter

Mary Maloney in “Lamb to the Slaughter” is a sympathetic character, unlike Montresor in “The Cask of Amontillado”. A sympathetic character is one that you can identify with, and is likable. Mary Maloney from the very start is someone you can sympathize with. She is a calm, demure woman. “Her skin-for this was her sixth month with child- had acquired a wonderful translucent quality, the mouth was soft, and the eyes, with their new placid look, seemed larger, darker than before” (Dahl 87). Mrs. Maloney is six months pregnant, so we immediately begin to sympathize with her. Her household is neat and organized, “The room was warm and clean, the curtains drawn, the two table lamps alight-hers and the one by the empty chair opposite” (Dahl

87). Another thing that makes Mary Maloney likeable and relatable is how much she seems to love her husband:
For her, this was always a blissful time of day. She knew [Mr. Maloney] didn't want to speak much until the first drink was finished, and she, on her side, was content to sit quietly, enjoying his company after the long hours alone in the house. She loved to luxuriate in the presence of this man, and to feel-almost as a sunbather feels the sun-that warm male glow that came out of him to her when they were alone together. She loved him for the way he sat loosely in a chair, for the way he came in a door, or moved slowly across the room with long strides. She loved the intent, far look in his eyes when they rested in her, the funny shape of the mouth, and especially the way he remained silent about his tiredness, sitting still with himself until the whiskey had taken some of it away. (Dahl 87)
She is definitely shown as a sympathetic character, being likeable and easy to identify with. She is also admirable because of having an ideal household, and much love for her husband. Then, suddenly, her husband says he’s leaving her and she kills him. Immediately the perfect household has fallen apart. But despite this, Mary remains a sympathetic character. We feel even more sympathy for her because of what Mr. Maloney tells her. After Mr. Maloney reveals to her what has been troubling him, he says “‘So there it is,’...‘And I know it's kind of a bad time to be telling you, but there simply wasn't any other way. Of course I'll give you money and see you're looked after. But there needn't really be any fuss. I hope not anyway. It wouldn't be very good for my job’” (Dahl 88). We feel satisfied that she has finally stood up to her husband. Her husband is cold to her, even in her pregnant condition, and we feel that his murder was at least a little justified. Even right before his murder he is impolite to her. He has just told her something devastating, yet he speaks to her harshly. “‘For heaven’s sake,’ he said, hearing her, but not turning round. ‘Don’t make supper for me. I’m going out’” (Dahl 88). We feel pity for her, even after she murders her husband. Her first concern is for her child:
As the wife of a detective, she knew quite well what the penalty would be. That was fine. It made no difference to her. In fact, it would be a relief. On the other hand, what about the child? What were the laws about murderers with unborn children? Did they kill then both-mother and child? Or did they wait until the tenth month? What did they do?
Mary Maloney didn't know. And she certainly wasn't prepared to take a chance. (Dahl 89).
She is selfless, caring only for the fate of her child.

So despite the fact that she has just killed her husband, we still sympathize with her. Another factor contributing to her likeableness is that the story is told completely in her point of view. So even if we didn’t feel sympathy for her, we would feel empathy. The story being in her point of view lets you witness how shocked she is by her husband’s announcement, her pain, her love, and all her other feelings. You can understand her motives, why she kills her husband, and all her other actions. It is hard not to sympathize with her, or even excuse her behavior, despite the fact that she murdered her own

husband.
Mary Maloney is definitely a sympathetic character.
Montresor from “Cask of Amontillado” is not a sympathetic character.

The definition of a sympathetic character is one you can relate to, and understand their motives. Though Montresor states his motives, “A thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge” (Poe 1), it is not believable that he would murder someone because of an insult. This makes him not relatable, because though most people want revenge when insulted, they do not murder the offender. Even if they do, they don’t carefully plan out a specific method of death. Montresor does display some darker human traits, such as remorselessness, trickery, vengefulness, and sneakiness, but real people don't usually demonstrate it to the extent that he does. For example, when he says “In pace requiescat” (Poe 5), he doesn’t mean ‘rest in peace’ in the normal way. He actually says it because he doesn’t want anyone to find Fortunato’s bones, and disturb their peace. It is used as a selfish phrase. Also, when he finishes burying Fortunato alive, “[His] heart grew sick; [but] it was the dampness of the catacombs that made it so” (Poe 5). He has just killed a human being, but he feels uncomfortable only because it was damp in the vaults. Montresor is a classic unsympathetic

character.
Although Mary Maloney killed her husband, there’s plenty of evidence to support that she loved her husband very much. At the beginning of the story, the author describes how much she loves about him. She even loves him for “the way he sat loosely in a chair, for the way he came in a door, or moved slowly across the room with long strides” (Dahl 87). When Mrs. Maloney notices these small details, it is evident that she loves her husband. It is also stated that “Now and again she would glance up at the clock, but without anxiety, merely to please herself with the thought that each minute gone by made it nearer the time when he would come” (Dahl 87). Mary thinks about her husband so much, that it is clear that she loves him. She is a devoted housewife, ready to wait on him for almost everything. “‘ If you’re too tired to eat out,’ she went on, ‘it's still not too late. There's plenty of meat and stuff in the freezer, and you can have it right here and not even move out of the chair’” (Dahl 87). Then, after her husband announces something devastating, she murders him. Immediately it seems that she didn’t love him as much as we thought she did. “It was extraordinary, now, how clear her mind became all of a sudden” (Dahl 89). Mary even goes as far as to create an alibi and destroy the evidence. But when she comes back from the grocery store, “it really was rather a shock. All the old love and longing for him welled up inside her, and she ran over to him, knelt down beside him, and began to cry her heart out. It was easy. No acting was necessary” (Dahl 90). Though she murdered him, Mary proves many times that she really did love Patrick.
Mary Maloney is guilty of murder. She should be placed under immediate arrest and serve a lengthy prison sentence. Mary is pregnant, but that does not excuse the fact that she killed her own husband. “At that point, Mary Maloney simply walked up behind him and without any pause she swung the big frozen leg of lamb high in the air and brought it down as hard as she could on the back of his head” (Dahl 88). This was not an accident. She deliberately hit him. In addition to this, if it were a crime of passion, then Mary wouldn’t have been as clear-headed as she was. “It was extraordinary, now, how clear her mind became all of a sudden. She began thinking very fast. As the wife of a detective, she knew quite well what the penalty would be” (Dahl 89). She immediately begins to try to cover it up. She creates a believable alibi, that she was at the grocery story getting dinner for Patrick. She even actually rehearses a fake grocery store trip, and when she gets back she is truly shocked by Patrick lying on the floor. Mary even goes as far as to destroy the evidence. “‘Please,’ she begged, ‘Please eat [the lamb leg]” (Dahl 91). When the detectives unknowingly eat the lamb leg, Mary proves that she is guilty of murder:
“[The weapon is] probably right under our very noses. What do you think, Jack?”
And in the other room Mary Maloney began to giggle.” (Dahl 92)
What proves the point completely is that Mrs. Maloney admits to herself that she is guilty of murder. “All right, she told herself. So I’ve killed him” (Dahl 89). She shows that she is insane by giggling at the end, and therefore should be placed under immediate arrest. It is also correct for her to serve a lengthy prison sentence, because of the unlawful murder she committed. Mary Maloney is guilty of murder.