The Veiled Lodger by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and The Lamb To The Slaughter by Roald Dahl

In the stories The Veiled Lodger by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and The

Lamb To The Slaughter by Roald Dahl, both women murder their husbands.

Who do you have the most sympathy for, and why?

In the stories 'The Veiled Lodger' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and 'The

Lamb To The Slaughter' by Roald Dahl, both women murder their

husbands.

Who do you have the most sympathy for, and why?

'The adventure of the veiled lodger' is an epic tale of treachery,

murder, and deceit. Written in Victorian England, this mysterious

anecdote serves its purpose by solving the crime endowed by a

mutilated widow.

' Lamb to the slaughter' has a similar plot to 'the veiled lodger', in

that both of the main characters, the wives, murder their husbands and

appear to get away with it. This story is particularly ironic and has

humorous aspects to it. The story opens with Dahl leading us into a

false sense of security by creating a warm, friendly atmosphere with

phrases such as, 'warm and clean...curtains drawn...lamps alight'.

Dahl also uses phrases such as, 'merely to please herself with the

thought that each minute gone by made it nearer the time he would come

home...their was a slow smiling air about her...skin had a wonderful

translucent quality' to demonstrate Mrs. Maloney's apparent pleasant

nature.

The first Dialogue appears in the fifth paragraph with Mrs. Maloney

welcoming home her husband with, 'Hullo, darling,' he then responds

with an abrupt one-worded answer which immediately creates tension.

She then continues in her gratifying nature, making drinks, hanging up

his coat etc. Dahl then continues to denote Mrs. Maloney's affection

towards her husband, 'enjoying his company...luxuriate in the presence

of this man...t...

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...on had pounced on her instead of her

husband and had torn away her beauty and how Leonardo could have saved

her if he hadn't lost his nerve like a coward. She had decided that

her only desire was to cover up her mutilated face and that is what

she did.

I definitely have more sympathy for Mrs Ronder because she has

suffered her entire life and what she did; she did for love of one man

and sheer deserved hatred for another. Mrs Maloney on the other hand

did what she did out of anger and her actions were not called for in

the circumstances. Both of these women were wrong to have done what

they did but as Dahl states at the end of the tale, " Mrs Maloney

began to giggle." Which demonstrates that she neither cares nor feels

guilty for her actions and she herself would not greatly suffer unlike

Mrs Ronder who received all the suffering and also lost her love.