And Mr. Maloney, because Mr. Maloney has something different to do from his occasional routine, he is scared, tired and probably feels sympathy for his wife, according to his harsh decision of leaving her ‘And I know its kind of a bad time to be telling you, bet there simply wasn’t any other way. Of course ill give you money and see you’re looked after. But there needn’t really be any fuss. I hope not anyway. It wouldn’t be very good for my job’ His arrogance had probably angered Mrs.
Maloney to killing her husband and he seemed very calm about the whole situation, therefore we can see that the emotions of a female would be higher than a males in this situation and we can clearly see that this was a way in which Dahl had conveyed attitudes to the gender roles. There is a greater frequency of the use of polite speech from women and men. The use of male and female stereotypes have an effect on this situation in Lamb to Slaughter in which men were to be forward and direct their assertiveness to control the actions of others.
This is shown when Mr. Maloney shows his supremacy through the use of imperatives towards his wife ‘Sit down! He said ‘just for a minute, sit down’ it wasn’t till then she began to get frightened’ ‘go on’ he said ‘sit down’ to portray his power and dominance over his wife, i. e. the female figure. Mary Maloney is a victim of Patrick’s disrespect and verbal abuse. “For God’s Sake” and “Sit Down” were some of the disrespectful things and commands yelled at her.
The Essay on Mrs Maloney Patrick Wife Story
A tale of the unexpected is Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl. The story has a twist in the tale ending in which a loving wife gruesomely murders her husband. Mr Patrick Maloney, a senior in the police force seemed a happy married man to his pregnant wife, Mrs. Mary Maloney. Mr Maloney comes home one night, shocking his wife with the news he is leaving her. Mrs. Maloney is in great shock, to a ...
Dahl wrote this in a way in which Patrick orders her to do things when she is being polite and courteous to him and he shows little respect for her and snaps at her when she offers food and drinks to him. This could have been more of a reason for her to become aggravated and lead her to killing him because she couldn’t take it anymore. In a female case, it is said that their job as a secondary role in society was expected at that time, that they should act like a lady and respect those around you.
She spends each day anticipating the return of her husband, Patrick Maloney. In this waiting period, she tidies up his house, prepares his food, and periodically glances at the clock until he arrives. For Mrs. Maloney, her husband’s return is ‘always the most blissful time of day’ Mrs. Maloney personality and character had appeared like this when she constantly kept asking her husband questions such as ‘Daring, shall I get your slippers? ’ ‘Would you like me to get you some cheese? This reflects the role of the status women were supposed to maintain during the 1950’s, however, the trend of expected polite speech from the female continues to remain. This is a prime example of how society plays an important part on the social function of the language and these were Dahl’s intentions on how they had portrayed the relationships between men and women in his stories. In the large majority of short stories male characters are structured as authoritarian over the females who are shown to be obedient, though this does not ring entirely true when referring to the short story Lamb to the Slaughter.
Mr. Maloney is seen as the more powerful character in this and this has an effect on the way in which these two characters interact with one another. The stereotypical type portrayed in this story is generally not reflected in the men and women in today’s society. Mary Maloney starts off as a perfect example of how females are portrayed as submissive in texts, ‘she laid aside sewing, stood up, and went forward to kiss him as he came in’ which portrays her affection towards to dominant protagonist, being her husband. Mrs. Maloney sewing is also a gerund that is a female stereotype.
