What atmosphere is set in the first two paragraphs of "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl?
In the first two paragraphs, Dahl sets up the atmosphere as a warm and cozy home. Mary Maloney is clearly a devoted wife. The house is "warm and clean." This indicates that it is loving and that Mary works hard to make sure the house is clean and inviting for her husband. The curtains are drawn, indicating that it is evening with the sun peering in, but also indicating that the house is enclosed. That is, this is their own private, intimate world. She has everything set up for her husband and herself. A lamp is lit for each of them and drinks are already prepared with extra ice nearby.
The second paragraph also illustrates what a devoted wife she is. She glances at the clock repeatedly "without anxiety, merely to please herself with the thought that each minute gone by made it nearer the time when he would come."...
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She is glowing with warm feelings for her husband but also with the glow of being pregnant. She seems completely satisfied with her life at this point. She has a "slow, smiling air" and this means that she is calmly and comfortably happy. Here, "air" means the quality of how she expresses herself. Her skin is "translucent," meaning that it is clear and glowing. Her eyes are "placid" which means that they are peaceful.
She is a devoted wife, with comfortable home, a seemingly solid marriage, and a child on the way. This opening atmosphere and tone of a loving and idyllic home and marriage will create a more dramatic shock when the reader learns of the events that follow.
What atmosphere is set in the first two paragraphs of "Lamb to the Slaughter"?
The atmosphere is one of warm, peaceful domesticity. Mary is waiting for her husband, and her preparations show that they have a regular routine established for his homecoming. Every evening they have whiskey highballs together when he comes home. The scene suggests that he must look forward to this almost ceremonial climax to his long day just as much as she does--or at least that is what she believes to be the case. The room is
"warm and clean."
The lighting is soft because there is no ceiling light but only
"two table lamps alight--hers and the one by the empty chair opposite."
It could be seen as warm and cosy, or at tiny and confining, almost claustrophobic--the kind of little house that a cop could afford, with two bedrooms, one bathroom, a single-car garage, a little backyard, a home where two people would always be bumping into each other.
Mary is in for a rude awakening. She doesn't realize that her husband Patrick has gotten tired of his life with her. The fact that they have drifted far apart is exemplified by the brutal way in which he tells her he wants out of the marriage and by the way she reacts when she hits him over the head with a frozen leg of lamb.
The first two paragraphs of "Lamb to the Slaughter" indicate serenity and calm. The room where Mrs. Maloney is waiting for her husband is described as "warm and clean," and there are two glasses waiting to be filled with drinks when Mr. Maloney gets home from work. This scene would also suggest normalcy and routine, as if Mrs. Maloney had done this a thousand times in their marriage.
However, this calmness would also suggest foreshadowing of what is to come. The scene is too calm, and Mrs. Maloney is said to glance at the clock "without anxiety, merely to please herself with the thought that each minute gone by made it nearer the time when he would come." She seems very much vested in this arrangement and marriage, so the reader must already doubt that when he husband arrives, he will not bear good news.