Characterization In Lamb To The Slaughter

In the short story “Lamb to the Slaughter” the character of the detectives and Patrick Maloney are incapable of portraying Mary as an antagonist as the author, Roald Dahl makes them behave in a bias and stereotypical manner. Primarily in the beginning of the story, Mary is evidently devoting wife, who is taking time to care and love for Patrick and desires for everything to be ready before his return. When Patrick returns home that evening, he is observing that Mary is presenting excessive affection for him like usual as he is thinking that this is a worthy time to convey her the news. As Patrick is telling Mary the news he says, “And I know it’s kind of a bad time to be telling you, bet there simply wasn’t any other way. …show more content…
They are providing her with comfort and being bias towards the fact that she is the wife of a police officer who can never do something like this. Finally, when the detectives are searching for the weapon that the slaughterer has been using to kill Patrick, a stereotype towards Mary is upholding. Jack speaks to Mary gently, “ Her husband had been killed by a blow on the back of the head administered with a heavy blunt instrument, almost certainly a large piece of metal …‘It’s the old story. Get the weapon, and you’ve got the man.’” he said. (7) Mary being six months pregnant makes it seem quite unlikely that she can be capable of committing a brutal murder of the man she is going to be dependent on for support. The detectives are starting to believe that the killer is a man due to the fact the weapon being used is heavy and Mary will not be able to carry it. The reflections that the detectives are making is stereotypical saying men are stronger than women, this leading to no success of the case. In the end, the characters in the short story behave in a bias and stereotypical manner, which easily makes them, believe of Mary being not a bad