Lamb To The Slaughter Literary Analysis

Love can be as strong as tidewater, however, sometimes it becomes a huge net and traps you tightly. In Lamb to the Slaughter, by Roald Dahl, drastic desire to monopolize is hidden behind the gentle love. Mary, the housewife, finally punishes Patrick as the one who wants to escape from her obsessed love. Roald Dahl illustrates that love can be a sweet excuse for control, this story portrays a twisted love. People consider Mary as a lonely and helpless housewife who spends her life serving her husband. She doesn't have job and income, but a six-month child and her love to Patrick. In the opening scene, she waits for her husband as usual and "Now again she would glance up at the clock, but without anxiety, merely to please herself with the
thought that each minute gone by made it nearer the time when he would come." It seems that a lonely woman has waited for her husband for so long and she is getting more and more anxious and excited for every minute. However, this can be considered from another point of view. Once Patrick steps out from the house, Mary can't keep an eye on him. What might be the most important thing for Mary to keep an eye on? Maybe some beautiful young ladies outside. Married men are more likely to have extramarital love if they have a housewife who is a control freak. However, people seldom consider this case from another point of view. Readers are fooled by Mary's gentle love and her contribution to her husband. Her sense of control is hidden by love. After suffering the long waiting time, Patrick finally comes home.
Mary"took his coat and hung it in the closet. Then she walked over and made the drinks, a strong one for him, a weak one for herself."Not just drinks, she can't stop asking him about his request. "'Would you like me to get you some cheese?'" "'If you're too tired to eat out, there's plenty of meat and stuff in the freezer, and you can have it right here and not even move out of the chair.'" These action seems usual and normal for a housewife who deeply loves her husband. To Mary, Patrick is the only person she can rely on. She knows nothing but doing housework and waiting for her husband everyday. To her, Patrick is the only thing she owns, she can do nothing but support him, she gives all her love to Patrick, how grate she is, how kind she is!---But still, this can be considered from a different view. She seems edgy while serving him, maybe it's because she wants to please him, but what's more, she just wants to make Patrick do things that she ordered. Mary wants Patrick to be docile and do whatever she ordered, but Patrick keeps saying "no" to her. This makes Mary becomes edgy. It seems that Mary does this because of her love to Patrick, however, what she wants it's to control everything since Patrick comes home. Although Patrick keeps refusing Mary's serving, she says "'Anyway, I'll get you some cheese and crackers first.'" She becomes anxious and takes a tough stance, she doesn't care he wants it or
not, in her mind, she must do what she ordered so that she could control him. Finally, she calms down and listens to Patrick. Patrick "had now become absolutely motionless", and he tells her about the divorce. Mary's "first instinct was not to believe any of it, to reject it all." It must be shocked for her, she is poor. But for Patrick, divorce means liberation. He is afraid of her control, afraid of her twisted love. This marriage no longer contains love but control, his behavior must be controlled by her. He is trying to escape from her. For Mary, her husband is going to leave her, this makes she feels anxious and panic. But what's more, she notices that he is trying to escape from her. Suddenly, she loses everything she used to own, everything is out of her control. Then, "Mary Maloney simply walked up behind him and without any pause she swung the big frozen leg of lamb high in the air and brought it down as hard as she could on the back of his head." Maybe it's because she loves him so much and doesn't want him to leave her, but the truth is, he won't say no to her anymore, he won't leave her anymore, now she owns him forever. In a way, reading this story is like watching a movie with psychological suggestion, several causes combine and create this tragedy. Love is a sweet excuse for control, once you rely too much on one another, your pure love turns into terrible control and you might lose everything. People should know how to balance the relationships so that they are dependent but also independent.