Literary Analysis

Premeditated Crime Intention and Analysis to Mrs. Mary Maloney

By Waldo W.

July, 7th. 2020

The 1953 short story Lamb to the Slaughter, author Roald Dahl, established a conflicted character named Mrs. Mary Maloney. Overview concisely to the entire external plot, wife, Mrs. Maloney, killed her husband with a frozen lamb leg and disposed this murder-used weapon by feeding to the cops and detectives during the supper time. According to the motivation of her husband, the observations from readers could be differ: just because she killed her husband, she is a typical homicide; on the other hand, she is deemed as a victim instead of a murderer by some compassionate readers as well. This essay will summarize, explain and expand the circumstances in the plot to analyze Mrs Maloney’s murderous actions as well-premeditated.

Mrs.Maloney is perceived as a neutral character who is not completely vicious and violent, but she murdered her husband; therefore, it can be understood that she didn’t have the intention to be premeditated. The exposition of the short story indicates her expectation and preparation for the return of her husband from work, she was ready “went forward to kiss him as he came in”(Dahl, 1). It seems that their relationship is in a positive position as usual. She was enthusiastic about his return and planned to do everything for him to make him relax. However, her husband brought the bad news and disappointed her heart. Therefore, most of the readers could interpret that she would have an intense argument with her husband, nevertheless “Her first instinct was not to believe any of it, to reject all”(Dahl, 2). This statement is a testimony to the possibility of not premeditated as well. Although it seems that Mr. Maloney’s murder is not premeditate, the evidence support the comprehension is too insufficient to prove the that her actions were actually not premeditate. Conversely, as long as we change a little bit of the original startingline, the consequences will be on the opposite side to prove the premeditated probability.

If we begin to excavate about the inverse side of her enthusiastic behavior to the husband, there is another possibility that she had already known her husband was going to leave her; murdering him had already become a significant portion of her intention. Just because of this, she cherished the day with him and attempted to make him love her again by using her full emotion to love him. According to the plot, unfortunately, he left her eventually, however in the second page, the author does mention this: “It occurred to her that perhaps he hadn’t even spoken”(Dahl, 2). The suspicious aspects came to exist: the statement “Perhaps he hadn’t even spoken”(Dahl, 2). not only represents her astonishment, but indicates she had the intention that the husband would leave her as well; her mind had been refined for the day subliminally. Following the development of the raising action, the climax occurred fluently and smoothly. Coincidentally, there is a doubt-making point that she “Hit him without any pause”(Dahl, 3). Emotionally, he is her husband, she is such a gentle and calm woman that “without anxiety, merely to please herself with the thought that each minute gone by made it nearer the time when he would come”(Dahl, 1). It’s not the personality of a typical criminal or homicide. There must be a reason she changed so fast into a totally opposite personality. Therefore, as a step-conclusion, she is premeditated.

When you are in childhood or adolescence, assume that you did something ridiculous, like mischief, to others successfully that could make you feel proud and satisfied, the eccentric smile may appear on your face. In the short story, there are many descriptions of Mrs. Maloney’s peculiar facial expressions. “She tried to smile when faced the mirror”(Dahl, 4). After the death of a husband, a wife would be extremely melancholy because she lost the one she loved the most. Instead Mrs. Maloney makes us feel like: the successful murderous action to her husband satisfied and pleased her. She was smiling, even giggling at the end of the story. Based on this I infer that she is hiding the ecstasy and relief after killing her husband. At last, she said to the officer and detectives “do her a favor”(Dahl, 5), meaning help her. Superficially, the author conveys that it’s much too sufficient for her to eat the entire lamb leg. Obscurely, the utilization of dramatic irony in this dark comedy is actually to profound her well-planned motivation, because her murder-used weapon, the lamb leg, is disposed without any doubtful thinking by the officer. Besides, she is the wife of a policeman which inferred her thorough understanding of the investigation. As a conclusion, if we combine all of these fundamental elements in the evidence together, it’s not hazy to discover that the head of the arrows will lead to a fact: Mrs Maloney’s murderous actions are premeditated indeed.

Mrs. Maloney is a significant character in the short story Lamb to the Slaughter and a crucial part of the plot, because she appears apparently in every scene as a clue and hint to enhance the rising action to the climax and the falling action to non-resolved consequences, though she were proved to be premeditated on murdering her husband. According to these evidence in these previous paragraphs, I infer that she is not the standard to measure viciousness and kindness; instead she is a typical person that exists with emotions on the Earth. She felt ecstasy before the husband went back home (Dahl, 1), she felt melancholy and empty when her husband died (Dahl, 4 - 5), she felt relief when she cheated the policeman (Dahl, 6)… and all of these proves that she is a literary archetype—the author establishes a kind of cunning feminine image through the human nature, power of language, and his superior writing skills; Mrs. Maloney is not a hero or a villain, she makes the readers feel friendly, smooth, naturally, and a real person that subsist in the world.

Bibliography

Dahl, Roald. Lamb to the Slaughter, September, 1953.

"What is an example of foreshadowing, setting, and direct characterization in "Lamb to the Slaughter?"" eNotes Editorial, 21 Sep. 2016, https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-an-example-foreshadowing-setting-direct-25841. Accessed 16 July 2020.