idea of preserving her victim when she says, “I stuff all my little pets myself when they pass away." This is, essentially, where the similarities end.

There are many differences between the two. In the first place, the plots are dissimilar. Mary is a pregnant young woman awaiting the arrival of a much-loved spouse who she kills after hearing that he is going to leave her. She creates an alibi and calls the police, whose investigation does not turn up any definite clues. They, at Mary's insistence, eat the evidence, a cooked leg of lamb which, when frozen, was used as the murder weapon. In the end, Mary laughs when she realizes she is going to get away with murder.

The Landlady, in contrast, relates the story of a middle-aged woman who runs a Bed and Breakfast boarding house. She lives alone and intentionally murders a select number of guests by poisoning them with cyanide (hence the almond smell in the tea). Her latest guest is a seventeen year old, Billy Weaver, who falls for her charm. She systematically sets him up by extending warmth and kindness so that he may unsuspectingly drink his tea, which she laced with arsenic.

Furthermore, the reader knows exactly what Mary Maloney did, since the narrator tells us. In "The Landlady," however, the crime is suggested through a journey of discovery by the new lodger and the landlady's responses to his questions and her actions, such as when she looks him up and down and mentions that her previous tenants are still with her. The references to the stuffed animals also provide clues to her intent. The reader has to infer what she is up to.

In addition, Mary Maloney did not intentionally set out to kill Patrick, her husband. Her actions were not deliberate. In "The Landlady," however, the perpetrator deliberately plans her crime and follows a meticulous routine. There is no need for a cover-up, for it appears that she would never be a suspect. Mary Maloney, though, has to create an alibi, which she does with aplomb.

Another contrast between the two stories is the mood. In "Lamb to the Slaughter," the mood is less foreboding or tense. Mary, although purportedly sad at the beginning, regains her mood and speaks freely to the investigators. In "The Landlady," however, the reader senses the tension and build-up to the malicious malefactor's final act. 

Finally, one could also argue that the stories are contrasts, since the main character in one (Mary) can claim extenuating circumstances for her crime while, such mitigation is absent in "The Landlady."

Both stories deal with the idea of "the perfect crime" committed by a woman. But whereas Mrs Maloney's act of striking her husband dead is not premeditated, the twinkle-eyed middle-aged landlady had done same thing twice before and is "at it" again. She is definitely "off her rocker" in a Norman Bates kind of way (as in "Psycho") whereas Mrs Maloney just seems to have momentarily lost control. However, Mrs Maloney giggles while the policemen are discussing the eventual murder weapon "right under their noses,"revealing the perverse side to her personality. She also keeps her cool directly after the murder, going to the store and getting things for supper, even a desert,  "to please" Patrick (and to offer herself an alibi). Her deliberation and calculation are somehow incoherent with her sentimental and romantic nature. This paradox adds to the complexity and "scariness" of the character.

Roald Dahl wrote a third story using the same idea of the female criminal committing the perfect crime. In "The Way Up to Heaven" Mrs Foster, the perfectly servile housewife driven to distraction, takes advantage of the circumstances of only a few seconds to settle accounts with her husband once and for all. A "must" if you have enjoyed these first two tales.

Comparing Patrick and Mary Maloney, the two main characters in "Lamb to the Slaughter," reveals a number of similarities and differences. Although they have very different social roles, both Mary and Patrick work hard at what they do. As a housewife, Mary dedicates her day to ensuring the comfort of her husband, while Patrick, a police officer, has to "walk around all day long." Both, then, are devoted to their work.

Similarly, they are both creatures of habit. Mary knows and looks forward to the signs of her husband's impending arrival, like the key turning in the clock. Then, "punctually as always," Patrick and Mary sit together and enjoy a drink. 

In contrast, one of their differences relates to their decision-making ability. Patrick, for example, spends time thinking about a situation before making a decision. We see this in his decision to divorce his wife. Mary, on the other hand, is impulsive; her choice to murder her husband is rash and lacks any foresight. 

Comparisons:

1. Both stories are written by authors who focus on the hidden potential for evil or harm in everyone.  Dahl and Jackson seem to enjoy exploring the dark side of human nature.

2. Both stories feature women who appear to be harmless--Mary Maloney, a pregnant police officer's wife in "Lamb," and Miss Strangeworth, an old-time resident of a small town--but who take joy in outsmarting others.  Mary, once she has killed her husband, entertains his police officer friends as they investigate the murder and gleefully feeds them the murder weapon.  Miss Strangeworth plots her whole day around sending nasty notes to various members of the community, creating fear and spreading gossip. She takes pleasure in writing and sending the notes.

Contrasts:

1. Mary Maloney does not get caught in "Lamb"; so there is no sense of justice in Dahl's story, unless one considers Patrick Maloney's fate warranted because of his plan to abandon his very pregnant wife. Miss Strangeworth does get "caught" by some of the town's teenagers, and not only to they let her know that they have discovered her cruel practice, but they also destroy what is dearest to her--her roses.

2. Mary seems to have just snapped when Patrick told her that he wanted a divorce.  Her murdering him and then covering it up were not premeditated incidents.  In contrast, Miss Strangeworth seems to have been sending her notes and tormenting her town for years.

To compare and contrast the two murderers in Roald Dahl's two short stories "Lamb to the Slaughter" and "The Landlady," you'll want to compare and contrast their characterizations by thinking about what they are like as characters, what kinds of things they said and did, and what your overall impression of the two characters is. One thing of importance to note is that the murder in "Lamb to the Slaughter" was not premeditated; it was an act of passion she barely realized she was doing. In contrast, the murder in "The Landlady" was very much premeditated, right down to specifically choosing exactly what the young man she was waiting for would look like. Since Dahl presents one murder as premeditated and the other as not, Dahl also creates an underlying theme of the presentation of innocence that can also help with your analysis.

In "Lamb to the Slaughter," the murderer Mary Maloney is characterized as being very innocent. Many elements in Dahl's narrative describe the scene as innocent. The room is described as being very innocently warm; two table lamps are very innocently lit; and two glasses are even very innocently waiting on the cupboard. What's more, she is described as an expectant mother, waiting for her husband to come home, innocently sitting and sewing and feeling "curiously peaceful." She even greets her husband with, "Hello, darling," and continues to offer her assistance, just as usual. She is also described as barely knowing what she's doing when she fetches a frozen leg of lamb to fix for supper and whacks her husband over the head with it. All of these details serve to characterize her as a very innocent woman who is emotionally abused by her husband and incited to act out violently when told he was leaving her while pregnant.

In contrast, Dahl's descriptions in "The Landlady" lead the reader to be suspicious from the start. The landlady of the bed and breakfast also has her fair share of innocent descriptions, such as her "warm welcoming smile," her "round pink face," and "gentle blue eyes." Yet she also does her share of suspicious actions, such as saying Billy's room is already prepared for him as if she was expecting him, watching and waiting for him. She does many other suspicious things too, such as say she's very "choosy and particular" about who she accepts as guests. All of her suspicious descriptions serve to paint her as an insane and premeditating murderer as opposed to Mary, who innocently fell victim to mistreatment and lashed out.

In both of these stories, the main character is an outwardly placid and peaceful woman who possesses a malicious intent.  Whether or not you call Mary Maloney's act one of passionate revenge or not, we can agree that murder is malicious and she was capable of it.  As for Ms. Strangeworth, her malicious intent involves criticizing all her neighbors and publicly exposing their sins. 

What both authors are thematically doing with these seemingly innocent women is to show the dark underbelly that exists in small town America.  Both Mary and Ms. Strangeworth are upstanding citizens in their towns, and the towns themselves are portrayed as being quaint - small enough that Mary knows the grocery and all the police officers; small enough that Ms. Stangeworth can know the most intimate details of her neighbor's lives.

It isn't just the acts of these women, though (or at least, the initial acts).  For "Lamb", it is the way Mary follows through.  Despite having murdered her husband, she is able to cook up the murder weapon to serve to the cops with a straight face.  She even giggles at the irony of it.  For "Possibility", it is the way the town followed through.  Strangeworth isn't the only evil resident - the retaliation that occurs (destruction of the roses) when townspeople discover her identity prove that some form of immorality exists in us all.