What was Mary doing as she waited for her husband to return home?
Mary Maloney waits for her husband to return home from work. She is an attentive wife and a good housekeeper. While waiting for his return, Mary watches the clock “to please herself with the thought that each minute gone by made it nearer the time he would come home.” Mary ________ her husband. Q.
How does Mary feel when she returns home and sees her husband again?
She pretends she is very upset. She literally is upset and shocked and even feels love for him. She feels indifferent (that is, she couldn’t care less). She feels guilty and forgives him completely for being unfaithful.
Why does Mary go to the grocery store?
‘” The real reason Mary goes to the grocer is to establish an alibi for the death of her husband. Before she left the house after hitting her husband over the head with the frozen leg of lamb, she put the leg of lamb in the oven to begin cooking.
What is Mary Maloney doing at the beginning of the story?
In the beginning of the story, Mary Maloney was a normal, loving and caring pregnant housewife that loved and cared for her husband, Patrick Maloney, very much. Earlier at the start of the story we see Mary was waiting for her husband to come home from work.
Why does Mary giggle at the end of the story?
Mary giggles at the end of the story because she knows she has gotten away with murdering her husband.
How does Mary feel after killing her husband?
As soon as she kills her husband, for instance, Mary is described as having a “clear” mind. Mary does, however, feel sad that her husband is dead. When she returns home from the grocery store, for instance, she “cries hard” and there is “no acting necessary.”
What did Mr Maloney tell his wife?
Mr. Maloney tells his wife, Mary, that he is divorcing her. He informs her, too, that he will make sure to take care of her financially, but he warns her that she shouldn’t make a “fuss” because it would be bad for his career.
Is Mary Maloney a villain or victim?
In Lamb to the Slaughter, Mary Maloney is mostly a victim of circumstances, although she does display indications of being a cold murderer.
How does Mary react to the news?
Mary is stunned at the news. She is so completely blindsided by the news that Mary essentially begins operating on automatic. It’s like she is a robot. She decides to make dinner.
Why did Mary kill Patrick with a leg of lamb?
In Lamb to the Slaughter, Mary kills Patrick with a leg of lamb because it was the first weapon at hand when her hurt and rage over his betrayal…
How does Mrs Maloney react to the bad news?
Helen Mao, M.A. In Roald Dahl’s “The Lamb to Slaughter,” Mary Maloney reacts with denial, shock, repressed anger, and eerie calmness to news that her husband wants to leave her. A stereotypical 1950s wife, she is portrayed as happily domestic and obediently devoted to her husband.
What are Mary first thoughts after killing her husband?
At first she knows what she has done, killing her husband. Mary tells herself, “So I’ve killed him.” After the realization of her actions she is calm and thinks about the repercussions of her actions. She only starts to become concerned when she thinks of her unborn child.
Did Mr Maloney know that his wife was pregnant?
Mary Maloney didn’t know. And she certainly wasn’t prepared to take a chance. Mary thus develops a quick and successful alibi to clear herself from suspicion in her husband’s death in an effort to protect her unborn child.
How is Mary Maloney feeling as she waits for her husband to come home?
Q. Why is Mary Maloney smiling as she waits her husband’s return at the beginning of the story? She knows she will get even with him that night. She loves him and always finds his return a “blissful time of day.”
What is Mary Maloney afraid of?
Expert Answers Mary is concerned; she worries about him and the day that he has had. She wonders what has made him so tired. Mary’s worry manifests itself through fretting, additional offers of service, extra attention and care, and probing questions.
Why do the police officers suspect that it was someone other than Mary lamb to the slaughter?
The police officers do not suspect Mary for the murder. How does her behavior play a role in assuring this didn’t happen? This is because she was very calm and she was nice and since she was the husbands wife they didnt have much evidence to accuse her of anything bad.
What does Mary do when she sits in front of the mirror?
Answer: When Mary speaks to herself in the mirror, the reader is able to get a glimpse of Mary when she is perhaps her most authentic self. She realizes immediately after killing her husband that the punishment for murder will be severe, and she thinks frighteningly quickly about how to save herself.
How is it that Mary knows the penalty for her crime?
The text indicates that she knows what her punishment will likely be, and that it would be a relief. She doesn’t know what will happen to her unborn child though, and that fear motivates her to find a way to get away with her crime. She’s not willing to risk the baby’s life for her crime.
Why is the fact Patrick is a police detective important in the story?
Another reason that Patrick’s profession is important to the story is that his wife Mary has learned a lot about police procedure from being married to a cop. She establishes an alibi before she calls to report the murder.
Why does Dahl choose to avoid directly stating Mary’s husbands within dialogue?
The author’s main reason for handling Patrick Maloney’s announcement in the way he does was probably that he wanted to avoid a dialogue between husband and wife. Mary would be more than likely to argue, to plead, to explain, to ask for explanations, and, of course, to bring up the subject of her expected baby.