Maloney In Roald Dahl's The Lamb To The Slaughter

Always take caution in dangerous times because not everything is what it seems. The person you trust most might be the enemy. In “The Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl, Mary Maloney becomes fazed when her husband tells her he is going to leave her and their unborn child behind. And so, Mary decides to murder him with a frozen leg of lamb. However, now Mary must deal with the repercussions and cover up the murder. But, the cops are quickly deceived by Mary’s victim act. When analyzing Mary, we can see that her deceptive and quick-witted qualities help her get away with the murder in a cunning way.

To begin, Mary’s quick-wittedness enables her to act fast to cover up any evidence before the police arrive or any suspicion starts to arouse.

Firstly, Mary waits no time to devise an ingenious alibi to protect her child. She heads to the grocer and tricks Sam into thinking “Mrs. Patrick Maloney [is just] going home with the vegetables on Thursday evening to cook supper for her husband” (Dahl 15). Thus, Mary is away from the crime scene and has Sam to confirm her whereabouts. Therefore, making the cops believe it is impossible that Mary was the murderer as she was at the grocer. Obviously, it is impossible for someone to be at two different places at once. As a result, Mary’s interaction with Sam is crucial in order to prove her innocence. Concurrently, Mary’s incredible acting skills help put on a convincing performance to mislead the cops. For instance, Mary acts surprised and weeps over Patrick’s death even though she is the one who killed him. She calls the police crying, “Quick! Come quick! Patrick's dead!” (Dahl 15). Throughout the investigation, Mary sobs and mourns over Patrick’s death. Unquestionably, the cops were all exceptionally kind to her. They treat Mary as if she is the victim, offering words of comfort like if she will feel better laying down or head somewhere else for the night. Therefore, Mary’s stellar performance and confidence would make anyone think she is innocent. In brief, Mary is able to keep up her facade throughout the investigation and successfully deceive the cops without breaking under