Lamb to the Slaughter Summary
Lamb to the Slaughter was published in 1953 and written by Roald Dahl, a British author. The summary of this short story and the author’s introduction are provided one by one below.
Summary of Lamb to the Slaughter:
The story starts when the husband of Mary Maloney is about to arrive home from his office. He works as a detective in some police station. His wife is eagerly waiting for him. Mary Maloney is pregnant, and it’s her sixth month of pregnancy. As a happy wife, she watches the clock during her sewing in short breaks. So when Patrick, her husband, enters their home, she is ready to hang up his coat, make a drink for him, and sit with him silently during his rest time. Actually, Mary remains alone in their home, so when Patrick returns home, she enjoys her time with him.
However, when Mary attempts to take care of her husband, Patrick behaves unusually. He brushes off her efforts, drinks more than his usual routine, and declares that he intends to tell something important and shocking to her. Mary becomes nervous and scrutinises him. He tells his wife that he wants to end their marriage. The narrator doesn’t tell its reader any details behind his decision, but it becomes clear from the text that Patrick still wants to look after her financially after their divorce. Now, Mary who cannot believe his words decides to behave as if nothing has happened and brings out the frozen leg of a lamb from the cellar to make their supper. Then, when her husband tells her not to put any effort into preparing the supper as he wants to go out that evening, she kills him by hitting the back of his head forcefully with the frozen lamb leg.
As soon as Mary realises that Patrick is dead, she quickly thinks about how to protect herself and her baby from the penalty of murder. She doesn’t care about the penalty for herself. In fact, the punishment would be a source of relief for her. The real cause of anxiety for her is the future of her baby. Therefore, she goes out of her home to buy some items from a nearby grocer’s shop after practising her usual smile and voice. There, she converses comfortably with the grocer, Sam, about what she has to buy for her spouse’s dinner. While returning home, she knowingly acts as if everything is normal. Then, on entering her home, she becomes shocked to see her husband’s body lying on the floor and cries a lot. This crying is not a part of her acting as her love for Patrick was true.
She becomes distraught and calls the police station. Afterwards, Jack Noonan and O’Malley who are friends and colleagues of Patrick reach her home. Then, while maintaining her composure, she tells them the story of her grocery shop’s visit and the discovery of Patrick’s body on her return. When other detectives arrive and ask her questions, it appears that her premeditated chat with Sam becomes a source of her avoidance from the suspicion of murder.
Well, these policemen show sympathy for Mary and try to comfort her. Then, the policeman, Noonan, also offers Mary to go somewhere else for the night while they’re searching the house for the murder weapon. But Mary decides to stay in the house while they’re performing their duty. Afterwards, Jack Noonan tells her that some blunt metal object was used for the murder, and finding that weapon can disclose the murderer’s name. After nearly three hours of searching inside and around the house for the weapon, the police team is not close to discovering the weapon and cannot have this doubt that the weapon could be a frozen leg of a lamb. Afterwards, Mary Maloney persuades the tired, hungry, and frustrated police team to drink some whiskey and eat the cooked meat or the lamb leg. Then, while they are eating the evidence in the kitchen, Mary eavesdrops from another room and giggles when one of the persons states that the murder weapon could be right under their noses.
Roald Dahl’s Introduction:
Roald Dahl (1916-1990) was a popular British author, screenwriter, and wartime fighter pilot who is popular for his darkly humorous, suspenseful, and mostly macabre storytelling style. He is most famous for his children’s classics like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda. Also, Dahl was a master of adult fiction.
Conclusion:
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