Mary Is A Happy House Wife Analysis

Have you ever had the feeling that someone wasn't who they said they are? In the story Mary is a happy housewife until one day her world is turned upside down. She reveals her true self in every action from the mistake she made to the events after it. Many themes can be interpreted in the story. The main theme is that things aren't always as they seem. In other words you can never be sure who to love or trust.
The first piece of evidence supporting the theme is when the readers are introduced to what seems like a happy family. Mary is a happy and pregnant wife waiting for her husband to get home from work. Patrick gets home from work and seems different to Mary. He tells Mary that he’s leaving their marriage and their unborn child. …show more content…
The second piece of evidence is what Mary does after she kills Patrick. Mary shows little emotion after the death of her husband. The only thing she thinks about is making dinner. She goes and puts the lamb leg in the oven to cook but then realizes there is no vegetables or dessert. Mary decides she will go to the store. Before leaving Mary looks in the mirror to make herself look presentable. She also talks to herself and decides what she will say and do to not look suspicious. “The smile was rather peculiar. She tried again. "Hello, Sam" she said brightly, aloud. The voice sounded peculiar, too. "I want some potatoes, Sam. Yes, and perhaps a can of beans." That was better.” (Dahl 2) Mary leaves the dead body of her husband on the ground and goes to the store. The evidence supports the theme because it shows Mary isn't as sane as we first thought. She just killed her husband and shows no emotion. Most people would be bawling their eyes out if their spouse just died especially if they just killed them. She doesn't really cry all she does is make dinner. When she is leaving for the store you could say she made herself a “script” of what to say. She doesn't want to seem suspicious and get caught with the killing of her husband. Mary also does nothing with the dead body and just leaves it laying there. Both of these things show the lack …show more content…
The third piece of evidence is when Mary gets home from the store and sees the dead body of her husband. She runs to the dead body and starts to cry and all the love she had for her husband starts coming back. “All the old love for him came back to her, and she ran over to him, knelt down beside him, and began to cry hard.” (Dahl 3) Mary calls the police and tells them that someone had killed her husband. The police rush over and she plays the role of the sad wife. All Mary does is cry and cry as the police investigate. Mary then remembers the lamb leg in the oven and offers it to the officers for dinner. The officers accept and eat the lamb leg not knowing that the leg is the murder weapon of their fellow friend. The evidence supports the theme because it again shows that Mary has many different sides to her. She wasn't sad when she first killed her husband but when she sees him after the store she is extremely sad. Mary can’t stop crying and all the old love for Patrick came rushing back. She couldn't stop crying even when she was on the phone with the police. Mary was playing the role of the sad and confused wife. Mary changes her emotions again when she remembers the murder weapon is still in the oven. She knows she has to get rid of it so she offers it to the officers. Since they know Mary the officers accepted and ate the lamb. This is disrespectful