- #ROALD DAHL SHORT STORIES LAMB SLAUGHTER PROFESSIONAL#
- #ROALD DAHL SHORT STORIES LAMB SLAUGHTER FREE#
Then, there are the police detectives, who pride themselves on their ability to solve a crime, but whom Mary sweetly tricks into consuming the main exhibit. Once she shatters her own identity, Mary must carefully reconstruct it for protective purposes, as when she sets up an alibi by feigning a normal conversation with the grocer. Mary's sudden murderous action shatters the image that we have of her and that she seems to have of herself.
In the beginning of the story, Mary is seen as a middle class ideal of a young mid-twentieth-century housewife, maintaining a tidy home and catering to her husband pouring drinks when the man finishes his day. His treatment of his wife does not suggest that he loves her.
#ROALD DAHL SHORT STORIES LAMB SLAUGHTER PROFESSIONAL#
Mary's mention of his failure to advance at work, and his own wish that she not make a "fuss " about their separation because "It wouldn't be very good for my job " indicate that it may be professional success that he desires. Patrick is presumably motivated to leave his wife by an overriding passion for something or someone else. She luxuriates in his presence, in the "warm male glow that came out of him to her, " and adores the way he sits, walks, and behaves. Her elaborately planned alibi and convincing lies to the detectives also constitute betrayal.Īt the beginning of "Lamb to the Slaughter, Mary Maloney feels love and physical passion for her husband Patrick. Mary's killing of her husband is perhaps the ultimate betrayal. This violation of the marriage-vow is obviously not the only betrayal in the story, however.
#ROALD DAHL SHORT STORIES LAMB SLAUGHTER FREE#
I am so very glad to have been steered in the direction of a free publication.Patrick Maloney's unexplained decision to leave his pregnant wife. Irony flows through the dialogue and the brief narrative, keeping the reader wondering where things will go and how Dahl will tie them off. Dahl weaves this short story together effectively, including the police procedural aspect to this brief piece of writing. While others grace the pages of this story, there is little the reader gleans from them, keeping all the attention on the protagonist. While there is no time for backstory or real character development, Dahl does give the reader some insight with her actions as they relate to the murder of her husband. As she waits for her husband, she can see that there is something wrong, though has yet to put her finger on the source. While a short piece, Dahl is able to capture the reader’s attention in the opening sentences, focussing attention on Mary Maloney and her duties as a wife (of the time). His ability to entertain the reader knows no boundaries and the ideas that appear in his stories seem endless. I have long enjoyed the work of Roald Dahl, no matter what the topic. Recommended to all those who love a little murder and irony over a cuppa!
A wonderful piece of writing that can be read in a few minutes, Dahl shows why he is top of his genre. All the while, Mary stays quiet, watching the chaos and minding the oven. With police detectives rushing over, they begin to look for clues that might help them solve this crime. After putting the lamb on to cook and making her way to the grocery store, Mary returns and alerts the authorities of finding her husband’s body. While Patrick stares out the window, Mary slams a frozen leg of lamb against the back of his head. Not only does this news shock her, but it also means that they won’t be going out for their weekly meal. When, after much prodding, he reveals that he wants to end their marriage, Mary appears outwardly calm, but is boiling inside. When he arrives one Thursday he seems out of sorts. Mary Maloney is a dutiful wife, always happy to see her husband, Patrick, when he gets home from work. In a short story that was at first rejected by his publishers, Roald Dahl mixes dark humour with some irony to create a masterful tale.
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