Symbolism In The Landlady

In the story, The Landlady, by Roald Dahl, the main character Billy Weaver failed to realize key signs that showed danger during his encounter at the Bed and Breakfast with the landlady, this tendency was a big help in the Landlady’s success of killing Billy. Upon Billy’s arrival to the Bed and Breakfast he peered into the window to find yellow chrysanthemums inside. “There was a vase of yellow chrysanthemums, tall and beautiful, standing just underneath the notice,(Dahl 56). As Billy looks closely into the Bed and Breakfast he sees a fire burning in the hearth and a dachshund curled up asleep by it. Based off these factors Billy came to the conclusion that the Bed and Breakfast was a safe place to stay. “Billy told himself, and all in all, it looked to him as though it

He pressed the bell. “Far away in a back room he heard it ringing, and then at once - it must have been at once because he hadn’t even had time to take his finger from the bell-button - the door swung open and a woman was standing there,(Dahl 113). The Landlady appearing that quickly should raised a red flag in Billy’s head because it took no time at all for the lady to arrive, but he didn’t think much of it. As they continue to talk Billy asks how much it costed for one night and to Billy’s surprise it was very cheap, less than half of what he was ready to pay. ‘“How much do you charge?’ ‘Five and sixpence a night, including breakfast,’ It was fantastically cheap. It was less than half of what he had been willing to pay,”(Dahl 147). Billy should’ve been skeptical of the lady because of the very cheap price she charged, this should have caused him find out that she wanted him to stay there for some reason. But what really should have made him notice something was wrong was when she said this, “‘If that is too much,’ she added,