Authors will often use pivotal moments in their texts to show the many emotions and how they change in their characters. Roald Dahl uses this technique plentiful in his short story, “Lamb to the Slaughter.” The story takes place circa 1950 and follows Mary and Patrick Maloney through their rather unusual relationship bump in the road. Dahl uses actions and dialogue throughout the text to convey the emotions of these two characters. Patrick Maloney plays town policeman and Mary’s husband. Coming home to his incredulously devoted wife, he shares the news that he is leaving her, but will still provide money in the form of child support. However, leading up to this moment, Patrick’s actions and language have been short and curt with Mary. The …show more content…
In the beginning of the text, Mary puts off a content and devoted housewife impression, especially as “it [became] nearer the time [her husband] would come home,” (Dahl 1). Upon his arrival, Mary even goes so far as to “kiss him as he entered… [make] drinks [for themselves],” and simply “[enjoy] his company after the long hours alone,” (Dahl 1). The feelings and activity shown here appear to be the result of Mary’s satisfaction with her lifestyle. Her contentment with Patrick’s presence is quickly wiped away and turned into shock when broken the news that he would be leaving her. In her state of denial, “she couldn’t feel anything except a slight sickness” and “did everything without thinking,” (Dahl 1). It is in this manner of being that Mary takes the leg of lamb out of the freezer and proceeds to kill Patrick Maloney in one foul swoop. “All right, she told herself. So I’ve killed him,” Dahl writes (Dahl 2). Mary stays in this robotic-type state as she continually tells herself to “keep things absolutely natural,” while alerting the police of her husband’s death (Dahl 3). Able to preserve her housewife facade, she offers the officers and investigators the leg of lamb with the excuse that “Patrick would never forgive me if I let you stay… without offering you anything to eat,” (Dahl 4). This upkeeping is further proof of Mary’s now calm and managed state. Finishing the story with the simple
Mary has never been sick since she married Elton causing her family to disowned her and “she and Elton had quarreled the night before” (65). Mary’s husband is off at somebody else’s farm for the day, far from her and at home Mary is sick, alone, and miserable--her mood reflecting the weather. Berry tells us about their neighborhood of six small farms working together in fellowship and genuine camaraderie. Berry builds a setting in which Mary is happy and feels a sense of belonging which he juxtaposes with an insecurity wrought from sickness and doubt. Mary describes herself and Elton as each other’s half and even in quarrels, their halves yearned towards each other burning to be whole. Berry again juxtaposes, “their wholeness came upon them in a rush of light, around them and within them, so that she felt they must be shining in the dark. But now that wholeness was not imaginable; she felt herself without counterpart, a mere fragment of something unknown, dark and broken off” (79). There is a noticeable shift in Mary’s normal attitude as a result of her sickness and this is emphasized the emotional setting. In the physical setting, Berry uses the stove and the fire to limn her emotional setting, as she goes to bed the fire is burning low but she doesn’t have the energy to bring herself to rebuild the fire. When Mary wakes, Josie Tom has rebuilt the
Patrick would go home and ignore her when all she wanted to do was make sure he wasn’t hungry. Mary was so in love with him she would wait on the couch because she was anxious to see her husband. She was a very loving wife and would do anything for her
Dahl, Robert. "Lamb to the Slaughter." 1961. Elements of Literature. Vol. 4. N.p.: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 2007. 379-86. Print.
Life. Life is what gives you the ability to think, to speak, to breath and to be a part of this world. It is worth more than any amount of money, your life is priceless. Without it, we would seize to exist; our world would be utter darkness. Honourable Judge, Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, today Mary Maloney stands on trial before you. A woman who took the away the life of not just an innocent citizen, but her very own husband. She was thought to be an ordinary women, a typical housewife and a soon to be loving mother. However, the facts presented before you today conclude that Mary Maloney was not just an unordinary detective’s wife, but also a murder. On April 13th 1953, the life of Patrick Maloney came to a tragic end because of leg of lamb in the hands of Mary Maloney. For the following reasons, Mary Maloney, wife of the deceased, is guilty of 1st degree murder.
He can hear her steps down the stair to the cellar. He almost burst into tears. Patrick knows that he can’t give up now, not after he have broken her heart and made up everything so she can leave him. There was no Rebecca, he had no son, his parents didn’t force him into this marriage he was the one who made things look like that both their parents wanted them to get married. Patrick was afraid that she wouldn’t agree to this marriage. I can’t stop now, Patrick thought to himself it’s working she’s believing it; he told himself to hold back the tears but one still slip down his cheek.
This was to keep Mary quiet; the text accuses Patrick of caring more for his job
Striking, the boy conveyed an unparalleled impression. Deeper into this utopia however, his once charming disposition, slowly cracked to reveal his true monstrous nature. Out of the dream, emerged a nightmare. Malevolent, malicious, masks fell off to reveal a mentality concealed before. First impressions are not always accurate, sometimes underneath the perfection lies a different character waiting to be awakened. Take Mary Maloney in Roald Dahl’s “Lamb to the Slaughter” for example. Mary’s character development, along with her interactions with her husband, Patrick Maloney, and the detectives from his department reveal the theme of, “Seemingly “perfect” people have a dark side.”
The thought of even having to touch the aides disgust Mary because they are a physical representation of the reality she is denying. When she is told that she may have to kill her daughter, she reacts poorly, as most would expect a mother to, however she has gone to extremes. She accuses her husband of having never loved their daughter and that the only thing keeping them married was the daughter and that without Jennifer, Peter would have left Mary (156-158). This intense outburst from a woman who is usually so calm when tragedy affects those outside of her narcissistic bubble only goes to show further the indifferent attitude of denial. When made to recognize the oncoming death, she cannot fathom it, and tries to find other reasons for Peter trying to get her to come to terms with “murdering” her daughter.
At first though, Mary became very depressed, and she didn’t want to go anywhere or do anythi. Her only child had been killed and now she was alone. She felt compelled to forgive her son’s killer because she knew that would be the only way to get out of the state of depression. She contacted the prison where her son’s killer was staying. She sought permission to speak to her son’s killer. She wanted to find out why he would ever do something like this to
After she heard the news she convinces herself that he (Patrick) is still alive, she also speaks to herself/ practices her speaking to sound ‘normal’, and it shows how she felt about getting away with it. Mary Maloney was over tasked with the keeping of the house and being a doting wife to her husband, all she had going in her life was looking after her husband. Mary only wanted to be there for her husband, wanting to be with him no matter the problems they might have. Mary refused to see that her relationship was in rambles. To make her husband happy she took on as many tasks she could, along with keeping their marriage together as it was slowly falling apart. “Insanity is often the logic of an accurate mind overtasked”. (Oliver Wendell Holmes,
In “Lamb to the Slaughter,” Dahl highlights how the the truth is closer than you think. Mary Maloney is reactive when she finds out her husband wants to put an end to their marriage. After she finds
In conclusion, Mary is clearly shown to have a very manipulative and sinister character because she was a cold blooded murderer who had no feelings for her husband when she killed him, and she made people believe her grieving stories to make them feel sorry for her. But, all she wanted at the end was to cover up all of the evidence so she does not get caught and go to jail.
Also, as noted by the Bookrags study guide, Mary’s refusal to take her husband’s fears and securities seriously and her positive attidude and faith that life will work out for the best are not looked upon favourably by the villagers. They believe she is too simple and silly to understand her husband’s fears.
Although the physical confinement drains the narrators strength and will, the mental and emotional confinement symbolized in the story play an important role in her ultimate fall into dementia. By being forced to be her own company she is confined within her mind. Likewise part of the narrators mental confinement stems from her recognition of her physical confinement. The depression the narrator has experienced associated with child bearing is mentally confining as well. "It is fortunate Mary is good with the baby. Such a dear Baby! And yet I cannot be with him, it makes me so nervous"(675). Specifically, she cannot control her emotion or manage her guilt over her inability to care for her child. These structures of confinement contribute to the rapid degeneration of her state of mind.
The short story “Lamb to The Slaughter” by Roald Dahl is about the death of a detective who has been murdered by his wife. As officers arrive they can’t seem to find the murder and the murder weapon. The short story Lamb to The Slaughter is interesting to read because the author allows readers to put their own perspective into the book. Another reason is the storyline and finally the theme.