Lamb to the Slaughter

Synopsis of “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl

            Mary Maloney, a pregnant woman who waiting her husband, Patrick a detective in local police station returning from work. After her husband back, she sense unusual thing at her husband’s behaviour. Surprisingly, Patrick tell that he want to marry other woman which caused Mary murder him with frozen leg of lamb. She proceeds to cook the meat and pretends well when in front of her neighbours and the detectives. Then she serves it to the detectives who come to investigate her husband's death.

Describe and Discuss the Character of Mrs Maloney

            The amazing short story “Lamb of the Slaughter” was cleverly written by the well known British author Roald Dahl. This is a short story is about a seemingly happily married couple who are the Maloneys. The writer goes onto great detail describing the main character Mary Maloney.

            Mary Maloney was described as the housewife which pregnant and this is now the sixth month with child. Mary is a wife whose whole life centres around her husband. She carries out her duty as housewife nicely once. Patrick should very lucky to have a wife like Mary. At home Mary serves Patrick like king. Her wife was waiting for the day long just for him to back from work. While she waiting, she do her sewing. She ever tries to be an excellent wife. Mary does everything for him even she was not asking to do so.

            Mary Maloney is a caring person towards other people and especially to her husband, Patrick Maloney. She understands her husband very well just through his action only. It was coming up to ten minutes to five she knew her husband would be home any minute now. When she heard her husband walk up the path leading to the door she would go and make him a drink of whisky with ice as he open the closet door to hung his jacket up she would say "hullo darling" he replied "hullo". She knows her husband tired although he did not tell her. She sense something will happen when she saw Patrick did an unusual thing and she was right. She gave him the larger whisky she had made him. He drunk it extremely fast compare to normal. Then, he got up made himself another large glass of whisky. He also had drunk it very quickly. Mary immediately realized there was someone or something on his mind.

            Mary Maloney loves in every aspect of her husband very much. She waits happily each night for the arrival of her husband Patrick from work at the police station. Their relationship is not based on equality and that Mrs Maloney appreciates her husband much more than he appreciates her. For her, the moment her husband come back from work was a blissful time of day. All the action that her husband did was really impressed her. She love the way he sat loosely in a chair, 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 on her, the funny shape of the mouth, and especially the way he remained silent about his tiredness, sitting still with him until the whisky had taken some of it away.

            After her husband Patrick reveals his affliction, Mary's behaviour changes from being wife-pleasing-husband to self-observant women who was unstable and quite aggressive. This dramatic change was totally does not make any sense. On one Thursday night, she commits an almost perfect murder for the reason Patrick wants to marry other woman. Without compromise, she hit with all the strength to her husband head with the big frozen leg lamb. Nobody could realize that attack was from Mary even her husband itself. That poor Patrick was falling to the floor with thousand mysteries on his mind. Detectives who come to investigate her husband's death also did not suspect that Mary was the murderer.

            Her decision to kill Patrick was not rational at all. Just because he wants to marry other woman, she kills her husband. There is always another better solution for this kind of problem. It’s still not late for her to persuade Patrick to change his mind. She was not able to control her emotion and without thinking twice she cause her husband to sudden death.

            It is hard to expect and think that Mary Maloney was a tricky person because at the beginning the story she seemed to be a very kind and caring person who loved her husband more than anything. Maloney was faced with a number of challenges and problems which she had to overcome, both emotionally and psychologically. Also, she had to deal with the actual murder of Patrick and establish an alibi. As the wife of a detective she knew what the penalty would be. Everything appears to be too perfect and it was almost as if she was expecting something odd to happen. She tries successfully to simulate normal behaviour as much as possible by acting out her daily routine. . To have a believable alibi, she goes to the groceries and buys some vegetables and some cheesecake. At the grocery shop she had told Sam that they usually eat out on a Thursday. But Patrick was too tired to so. She was making lamb, vegetables and peas. Back from grocery shop, she sees him lying on the floor; it's rather a shock because all the old love and longing for him wells up inside her. The policemen look after Mary very well. She tells them everything from the beginning on, when he came back from work, that she went to the groceries, then came back and saw him lying on the floor, death. The police are searching the object which someone killed Patrick with, but they have no idea how it could have happened. She offers them a drink and the leg of lamb that is murderer’s weapon. When the lamb about to finish, she smile alone at other room because her plan was success.

            As conclusion, Mrs Maloney character was dynamic through her words and personality.