Mary Maloney Lamb To The Slaughter

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In the story “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl, we are introduced to Mary Maloney, who serves as our protagonist. Mary initially appears to be a devoted, seemingly traditional, caring wife, eagerly awaiting her husband's return home from work. However, as the story progresses, we witness a drastic shift in her character as she responds to news she isn’t ready to hear with a shocking act of violence. Through Mary's character, Dahl includes themes of deception, betrayal, and the unpredictable nature of human behavior. At the beginning of this story, Mrs. Mary Maloney is sewing while waiting for her husband to return from work, there are many ways to describe Mary like, “There was a slow smiling air about her, and about everything she did”. From lines like “she laid aside her sewing, stood up, and went forward to kiss him as he came in” we can tell she’s a very dotting woman, putting aside whatever she’d be doing just for her husband. As far as we know, she could be the ideal wife. After a short amount of time, her husband sits her down and confesses something which ends in her walking down into the cellar. Once she returns, …show more content…

While she’s speaking to the detectives that worked alongside her husband, she’s understandably shaken up and crying. Through tears “briefly, she told her story about going out to the grocer and coming back to find him on the floor.” Which we know isn’t a lie, but also isn’t exactly the truth. Though she did very much leave their home to walk to the grocer, she’d been the one to clobber her husband, leaving herself a widow. Which honestly seems better than having a live ex-husband off while you’re stuck with your child. Not like I’m defending her or anything, but all I’m saying is just because she’s crazy doesn't make her stupid. Ultimately, without having to lie once she makes it clear to the detectives, she simply couldn’t be Patrick’s

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