“LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER”BY ROALD DAHL ~ 1954

ORIGIN OF THE TITLE

It is generally used to describe a situation into which a person blindly enters without any knowledge of the inherent danger.

From the Bible (King James Version), Jeremiah 11:19: But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; And I did not know that they had devised a plot against me…"Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, And let us cut him off from the land of the living, That his name be remembered no more!”

In the short story, “Lamb to the Slaughter,” the story's title also works as a dark double entendre, a word or phrase used in a way that conveys two meanings, of its eventual outcome.

GENDER ROLES IN THE 1950’SGENDER ROLES

• THE IDEAL 1950S WOMAN MARRIED, COOKED AND CARED FOR HER FAMILY, AND KEPT HERSELF BUSY BY JOINING THE LOCAL PTA AND LEADING A TROOP OF CAMPFIRE GIRLS. SHE ENTERTAINED GUESTS IN HER FAMILY’S SUBURBAN HOUSE AND WORKED OUT ON THE TRAMPOLINE TO KEEP HER SIZE 12 FIGURE.

-- LIFE MAGAZINE, 1956

• THE IDEAL 1950S MAN WAS THE PROVIDER, PROTECTOR, AND THE BOSS OF THE HOUSE.

-- LIFE MAGAZINE, 1955

EXCERPT FROM A 1950S HOME ECONOMICS TEXTBOOK

• HAVE DINNER READY: PLAN AHEAD EVEN THE NIGHT BEFORE TO HAVE A DELICIOUS MEAL ON TIME. THIS IS A WAY OF LETTING HIM KNOW THAT YOU HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT HIM AND ARE CONCERNED ABOUT HIS NEEDS. MOST MEN ARE HUNGRY WHEN THEY COME HOME AND THE PROSPECTS OF A GOOD MEAL ARE PART OF THE WARM WELCOME NEEDED.

• LISTEN TO HIM: YOU MAY HAVE A DOZEN THINGS TO TELL HIM, BUT THE MOMENT OF HIS ARRIVAL IS NOT THE TIME. LET HIM TALK FIRST.

• MAKE THE EVENING HIS: NEVER COMPLAIN IF HE DOES NOT TAKE YOU OUT TO DINNER OR TO OTHER PLACES OF ENTERTAINMENT. INSTEAD, TRY TO UNDERSTAND HIS WORLD OF STRAIN AND PRESSURE, HIS NEED TO BE HOME AND RELAX.

How to be a good wife

• PREPARE YOURSELF: TAKE 15 MINUTES TO REST SO YOU WILL BE REFRESHED WHEN HE ARRIVES. TOUCH UP YOUR MAKEUP, PUT A RIBBON IN YOUR HAIR AND BE FRESH LOOKING. HE HAS JUST BEEN WITH A LOT OF WORK-WARY PEOPLE. BE A LITTLE GAY AND A LITTLE MORE INTERESTING. HIS BORING DAY MAY NEED A LIFT.

• MINIMIZE ALL NOISE: AT THE TIME OF HIS ARRIVAL, ELIMINATE ALL NOISE OF WASHER, DRYER, DISHWASHER, OR VACUUM. TRY TO ENCOURAGE THE CHILDREN TO BE QUITE. BE HAPPY TO SEE HIM. GREET HIM WITH A WARM SMILE AND BE GLAD TO SEE HIM.

• SOME DON'TS: DON'T GREET HIM WITH PROBLEMS OR COMPLAINTS. DON'T COMPLAIN IF HE'S LATE FOR DINNER. COUNT THIS AS MINOR COMPARED WITH WHAT HE MIGHT HAVE GONE THROUGH THAT DAY.

• MAKE HIM COMFORTABLE: HAVE HIM LEAN BACK IN A COMFORTABLE CHAIR OR SUGGEST HE LIE DOWN IN THE BEDROOM. HAVE A COOL OR WARM DRINK READY FOR HIM. ARRANGE HIS PILLOW AND OFFER TO TAKE OFF HIS SHOES. SPEAK IN A LOW, SOFT SOOTHING AND PLEASANT VOICE. ALLOW HIM TO RELAX-UNWIND.

• THE GOAL: TRY TO MAKE YOUR HOME A PLACE OF PEACE AND ORDER WHERE YOUR HUSBAND CAN RENEW HIMSELF IN BODY AND SPIRIT.

DARK HUMORDARK HUMOR IS THE USE OF THE

GROTESQUE, MORBID, OR ABSURD FOR DARKLY COMIC PURPOSES.

DARK HUMOR BECAME WIDESPREAD IN POPULAR CULTURE, ESPECIALLY IN

LITERATURE AND FILM, BEGINNING IN THE 1950S; IT REMAINS POPULAR TOWARD

THE END OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.

SETTINGTHE SETTING IS SYMBOLIC: ITS DOMESTIC

PRIMNESS IMPLIES MARY’S HAVING BOUGHT INTO A RATHER BORING VERSION

OF MIDDLE CLASS HAPPINESS.

THEMESBETRAYAL

PATRICK MALONEY’S UNEXPLAINED DECISION TO LEAVE HIS PREGNANT WIFE. THIS VIOLATION OF THE MARRIAGE-VOW IS OBVIOUSLY NOT THE ONLY BETRAYAL IN THE STORY, HOWEVER.

MARY’S KILLING OF HER HUSBAND IS PERHAPS THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL.

HER ELABORATELY PLANNED ALIBI AND CONVINCING LIES TO THE DETECTIVES ALSO CONSTITUTE BETRAYAL.

THEMESIDENTITY

MARY REPRESENTS THE IDEAL HOUSEWIFE OF THE 1950S.

ONCE SHE SHATTERS HER OWN IDENTITY, MARY MUST CAREFULLY RECONSTRUCT IT FOR PROTECTIVE PURPOSES, AS WHEN SHE SETS UP AN ALIBI BY FEIGNING A NORMAL CONVERSATION WITH THE GROCER.

THEN THERE ARE THE POLICE DETECTIVES, WHO PRIDE THEMSELVES ON THEIR ABILITY TO SOLVE A CRIME, BUT WHOM MARY SWEETLY TRICKS INTO CONSUMING THE MAIN EXHIBIT.

THEIR IDENTITY, OR AT LEAST THEIR COMPETENCY, IS THROWN INTO DOUBT.

THEMESLOVE AND PASSION

AT THE BEGINNING OF “LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER,” MARY MALONEY FEELS LOVE AND PHYSICAL PASSION FOR HER HUSBAND PATRICK.

EVEN FAR ALONG INTO HER PREGNANCY, SHE HURRIES TO GREET HIM, AND WAITS ON HIM HAND AND FOOT — MUCH MORE ATTENTIVELY, IT APPEARS FROM HIS REACTIONS, THAN HE WOULD LIKE.

PATRICK IS PRESUMABLY MOTIVATED TO LEAVE HIS WIFE BY AN OVERRIDING PASSION FOR SOMETHING OR SOMEONE ELSE.

MARY’S MENTION OF HIS FAILURE TO ADVANCE AT WORK, AND HIS OWN WISH THAT SHE NOT MAKE A “FUSS” ABOUT THEIR SEPARATION BECAUSE “IT WOULDN’T BE VERY GOOD FOR MY JOB” INDICATE THAT IT MAY BE PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS THAT HE DESIRES.

HIS TREATMENT OF HIS WIFE DOES NOT SUGGEST THAT HE LOVES HER.

“LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER”

AMBIGUITY

A QUALITY THAT ALLOWS READERS TO INTERPRET A STORY OR OTHER WORK IN MORE THAN ONE WAY.

HOW DID YOU INTERPRET THE STORY?