Discussion Topic
Mary Maloney's Manipulations in "Lamb to the Slaughter"
Summary:
In Roald Dahl's "Lamb to the Slaughter," Mary Maloney initially appears as a devoted, docile wife whose life revolves around her husband, Patrick. Her character undergoes a dramatic transformation following Patrick's unexpected announcement of leaving her, leading to an impulsive act of murder with a frozen leg of lamb. Despite her spontaneous crime, Mary cleverly manipulates the situation to establish an alibi and dispose of the murder weapon by feeding it to the investigating officers. Her ability to evade suspicion highlights themes of misjudgment and the thin line between love and hate.
What's your first impression of Mary Maloney in "Lamb to the Slaughter"?
Mary Maloney seems like the kind of woman who is often described as a "doormat." She is totally dependent on her husband. She is extremely domestic and content to stay at home and wait for him to return from work. The fact that she is six-months pregnant only makes her seem more domesticated, complacent, and dependent. A woman like this could easily become boring to a husband who had an interesting job in the outside world, such as that of her husband Patrick who is a policeman. She doesn't realize that her love, dependency, submissiveness, attentiveness, and all such other aspects of her domestic character can become intolerable to her husband.
Mary Maloney's character brings to mind the short story "The Chaser" by John Collier. In that story the old shopkeeper tells his young customer that he will eventually get so tired of being the husband of an adoring, possessive...
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wife that he will want to get rid of her.
"She will care intensely. You will be her sole interest in life. . . . She will want to know all you do. . . . All that has happened to you during the day. Every word of it. She will want to know what you are thinking about, why you smile suddenly, why you are looking sad. . . . How carefully she will look after you! She will never allow you to be tired, to sit in a draught, to neglect your food. If you are an hour late, she will be terrrifed. She will think you are killed, or that some siren has caught you."
(John Collier's story is thoroughly discussed in eNotes. See the reference link below.)
Mary Maloney in "Lamb to the Slaughter" has the wrong idea about marriage. She believes that she can retain her husband's love by being his devoted slave. Patrick Maloney seems to be the sort of man who is not in touch with his feelings, but who can come to devastating conclusions after a long period of silent endurance. Instead of feeling more closely bonded to his wife by the baby she is expecting, he feels all the more suffocated by the addition of another emotional burden, another link to his chain.
Mary, too, has not been in touch with her true feelinigs. She is the type of person who represses angry feelings and lets them build up until there is danger of an explosion. She becomes more her genuine self when she realizes that all her love and care have had exactly the opposite effect to what she expected.
"For God's sake," he said, hearing her, but not turning round; "Don't make supper for me. I'm going out." At that point, Mary Maloney simply walked up behind him and without any pause she swung the big frozen leg of lamb high in the air and brought it down as hard as she could on the back of his head.
She becomes a much more interesting character after that reaction. She loses her dependency and starts thinking for herself. We may not approve of wives killing their husbands, but we can still admire her self-sufficiency, which was present all along without her being aware of it. She stalls about calling the police in order to establish an alibi. She puts the frozen leg of lamb into the oven and turns it up to high, then goes to Sam the grocer to establish that she was absent from home when her poor husband was murdered by some intruder. Finally she serves the cooked leg of lamb to the policemen who are searching all over the premises for the murder weapon.
Why do we want to see Mary Maloney get away with murder? Her response to her husband's rejection seems justified, and we enjoy stories in which "the worm turns."
Did Mary Maloney plan the murder in "Lamb to the Slaughter"?
Mary Maloney is definitely not thinking about murdering her husband at any time. She loves him and believes he loves her. She is just waiting for him to come home and looking forward to seeing him.
For her, this was always a blissful time of day. She knew he didn't want to speak much until the first drink was finished, and she, on her side, was content to sit quietly, enjoying his company after the long hours alone in the house. She loved to luxuriate in the presence of this man, and to feel--almost as a sunbather feels the sun--that warm male glow that came out of him to her when they were alone together.
Tangible proof that she was not thinking about killing her husband is the murder weapon. Who would ever plan to commit a murder with a leg of lamb, frozen or otherwise? The deed was spontaneous, unpremeditated, almost unconscious.
"For God's sake," he said, hearing her, but not turning round; "Don't make supper for me. I'm going out." At that point, Mary Maloney simply walked up behind him and without any pause she swung the big frozen leg of lamb high in the air and brought it down as hard as she could on the back of his head.
Accordinig to the eNotes Introduction in the Study Guide, the story was written in the early 1950s. World War II had ended in 1945, and Americans were on a buying spree because of the nation's prosperity and the fact that there had been little to buy during the war years. The auto makers were not offering new cars to the public. Television had been invented, but the manufacturers were holding back on introducing it to the American public until the war ended.
One of the new items being introduced to the public after the war was big frozen food lockers five or six feet long and about four feet tall. People were buying huge amounts of meat because they could save a lot of money through buying in quantity. These big lockers lost their popularity for several reasons, one being the fact that if there was a power outage all the meat could be ruined and have to be thrown out. Another was that mammoth refrigerators with big freezers also came on the market.
Roald Dahl undoubtedly got the idea for "Lamb to the Slaughter" because of the introduction of these big frozen food lockers, most of which have vanished from the American scene. Other authors thought of stories in which someone kept a dead body frozen, since the lockers were roomy enough to accommodate a corpse. There was a small window of opportunity for stories of this sub-genre. Dahl's perfect-crime tale was not intended to be taken too seriously. Mary Maloney's sudden outrage is understandable, but she does not seem like the kind of woman who would commit a murder regardless of the provocation. That is one of the main reasons all the investigators never suspect her.
It is ironic that Mary is married to a policeman and that his murder brings an unusually large number of fellow officers to his home. Their long search of the premises for a murder weapon is part of the black humor, not only because they would never think of the weapon being a frozen leg of lamb, but also because they become hungry enough to eat the evidence.
Dahl might have considered having Mary plan the murder ahead of time, but it was the fact that it was not planned that kept her from being suspected. If she had planned to murder her husband, she would never have thought of using a frozen leg of lamb. Who would think of such an idea except Roald Dahl?
What modern evidence could implicate Mary Maloney in "Lamb to the Slaughter"?
At the scene of the crime, it is unlikely that the police would have found any additional evidence to incriminate and use against Mary Maloney. Her alibi checked out, and the police ate the murder weapon. It's likely, though, that today's law enforcement agencies would have Patrick's body autopsied by a medical examiner. The main reason would be so that the medical examiner could closely examine Patrick's head wound. The hope would be that the medical examiner could tell the police exactly what the murder weapon was shaped like. Chances are, the frozen leg of lamb would have transferred cellular content to Patrick's head. Scrapings and microscopy work would reveal that Patrick's head wound contained a foreign substance. DNA testing or a chromosome analysis would show that the foreign substance was lamb. I would assume that an astute detective could piece it together from there.
What would happen to Mary Maloney if found guilty in "Lamb to the Slaughter"?
Whichever the laws of her particular state, Mary Maloney would still have had a really bleak future had she been found guilty of murdering her husband in Lamb to the Slaughter.
First, she not only killed her husband, but her husband happened to be a police officer. That alone is a huge deal because she would be categorized immediately as a "cop killer" and the punishment that is applied for attacking (let alone KILLING) an officer of the law is twice as harsh.
Second, she concealed evidence. If any of the police officers that were eating the lamb that night had even suspected that the lamb was the murder weapon- and came forward with proof- Mary would have to also face charges for that as well.
Mary would have to go through the horrors of delivering her long-awaited baby in prison, perhaps never get out of prison, and she would have to find a trusted source to give her child under custody.
She would probably never see her child grow up, and her pretty and comfortable home would now be a cold prison cell surrounded by dangerous females that could be cold-hearted and mean to her.
Even worse, Mary could have ended up in death row and really NEVER even have the privilege of any visits from her child. Her family will probably shun her and she would have been all alone and eventually die unhappily.
When you think about it, you almost can understand why she had to come up with a plan.
How does Mary Maloney's role in "Lamb to the Slaughter" change from protagonist to antagonist?
I think the part that I find so fascinating about Mary Maloney's transition from the doting-wife protagonist to the murder-covering antagonist is that the transition is so understandable. Her entire world revolves around Patrick, and his announcement hits her hard. It's a completely unexpected blow. And Mary sits there and takes it. She even decides to cook dinner for the guy. No yelling. No slap to the face. No walking out of the house to vent to a girlfriend. Nothing.
But anybody who has ever had some pent up aggression and/or frustration knows it has to come out somehow, sometime, and somewhere. Patrick's announcement that he isn't hungry is the last straw for Mary. This time she delivers the unexpected blow . . . literally. I still don't think of her as a bad guy at this point, though. Her action doesn't seem out of place. The following actions, though, get more and more devious and antagonistic. She's immediately plotting how to get away with the murder. She cooks the lamb, goes to the store to establish an alibi, comes home, acts shocked to find a dead body, and calls the police. Still, at this point I'm not totally disgusted with Mary. I'm horrified, though, at the end. She feeds the murder weapon to the police and laughs at the fact that the murder weapon will never be found. Her laugh is either a giggle of joy or a sinister chuckle. Either way, she's got no remorse in my opinion, which makes her transition to antagonist complete.
"That's a big bar the murderer must have used to hit poor Patrick. The doctor says the back of his head was broken to pieces.
"That's why the weapon should be easy to find." "Exactly what I say."
"Whoever did it, he can't carry a weapon that big around with him."
"Personally, I think the weapon is somewhere near the house."
"It's probably right under our noses. What do you think, Jack?"
And in the other room, Mary Maloney began to laugh.
What are some ways Mary Maloney could have been caught in "Lamb to the Slaughter"?
This is a super fun question, because imagination is your only limit.
Let's start with the highly unlikely. Mary could have been caught, if she confessed to her crime in front of the police. That's not completely impossible. After all, that's what happened to the narrator in the "Tell-Tale Heart." His guilty conscience got the better of him, and he confessed. Mary might have felt the same way and confessed her crime. It's not likely though since she was giggling at the fact that the detectives were eating the murder weapon.
"It's probably right under our noses. What do you think, Jack?" And in the other room, Mary Maloney began to laugh.
I think a more likely possibility for her capture though is a thorough medical examiner combined with a nosy neighbor. The medical examiner would be able to narrow down the time of death to a small window. A nosy neighbor might have seen Mary leave the house to go to the store and marked the time. The detectives would then be able to combine those two facts, and they would realize that Mary had to be home at the time of Patrick's death. In fact, a nosy neighbor isn't completely necessary. The detectives could check out Mary's alibi and get a rough timing of the situation and realize that Mary was likely home when Patrick was killed.
How does Mary Maloney manipulate Sam into believing her story in "Lamb to the Slaughter"?
Sam is the grocery store worker in the story. The first thing to remember about Sam is that he has no reason to suspect anything is wrong about Mary. I'm sure it is quite obvious to everybody that knows Mary and Patrick that Mary is absolutely infatuated with her husband, so Mary's run to the store for Patrick makes sense.
Now and again she glanced at the clock, but without anxiety: She merely wanted to satisfy herself that each minute that went by made it nearer the time when he would come home.
The author makes it clear that Sam knows Mary. He greets her by name. The author also makes it clear that Sam knows Patrick, because Sam knows that Patrick likes cake.
Mary's story about why she is at the store is quite ordinary and mundane. She and Patrick normally go out, but he didn't feel like it tonight, so she needs some groceries. She buys things that she would normally buy and acts perfectly cordial the entire time.
Mary is able to act this way because that's exactly what she is doing -- acting. Mary spent some time at home making sure her make up was correct and practicing the lines that she would say to Sam. To answer your question in the simplest way possible, Mary manipulates Sam because she rehearsed the entire scene beforehand.
How is Mary misjudged in "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl?
I would say that Mary is misjudged in a few ways.
First, the reader and Patrick believe and accept Mary as a completely mild-mannered and docile individual. She is portrayed as the perfect doting wife who loves merely to sit in the presence of her husband and see to his every need. Patrick assumes that he can tell her that he is leaving her for good, and Mary will do nothing about it other than politely accept her lot in life. Patrick misjudges her capability to become angry enough to kill him.
The reader misjudges her inner strength and resolve. At no point in the first half of the story would I have guessed that Mary was capable of not only killing her husband, but also establishing an alibi. Furthermore, I didn't think she had it in her to get rid of the murder weapon by feeding it to people.
Lastly, I know the investigating officers misjudge Mary. I know that she killed Patrick, and I know that she is lying. The officers do not know those details, and Mary's alibi and docile nature fully convince the officers that she had nothing to do with Patrick's death.
In fifteen minutes he was back with a page of notes, and there was more whispering, and through her sobbing she heard a few of the whispered phrases – “...acted quite normal...very cheerful...wanted to give him a good supper… peas... cheesecake... impossible that she...”
In "Lamb to the Slaughter," what does the reader know about Mary's character?
In this excellent and darkly humorous short story, Mary Maloney is without a doubt the most interesting character. This story is most frequently taught at college because it is as an excellent example of the use of irony, and what is absolutely key to this is how Dahl builds up his picture of Mary as a loving wife. Consider how she is first introduced:
Now and again she would glance up at the clock, but without anxiety, merely to please herself with the thought that each minute gone by made it nearer the time when he could come. There was a slow smiling air about her, and about everything she did.
Note too how her actions are stereotypical of a loving wife: she greets her husband with a kiss, takes his coat, makes him a drink. Note how Dahl continues to develop this image of her as a loving, perfect wife:
She loved to luxuriate in the presence of this man, and to feel - almost as a sunbather feels the sun - that warm male glow that came out of him to her when they were alone together. She loved him for the way he sat loosely in a chair, for the way he came in a door, or moved slowly across the room with long strides.
This is almost an obsessed kind of love but it serves to set the stage for the situational irony of what is to come. When Patrick Maloney tells her that he is leaving him, she strikes him on the head with a leg of lamb and then shrewdly engineers the removal of the murder weapon and thus all evidence of her crime. Such an act is unexpected and at variance with the image of her that we are led to believe at the beginning of the story, and perhaps suggests the darker message of the story - that love and hate are not so strictly separated after all and that a thin dividing line is all that separates them. Watch out, husbands!