Lamb To The Slaughter Maloney Analysis

My first impression of Mrs.Maloney is that she is a patient, organized and content woman. She is a very calm and collected person. This is evident at the beginning of Lamb to The Slaughter, when she is waiting for her husband to come home: “Now and 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 home” (176). It is clear from this that she is very patient while waiting for her husband to come home because, from every minute that passes, it is closer to him coming home. Mrs. Maloney is also a very clean and organized person. This is very clear in different parts of the story such as the first paragraph: “The room was warm and clean, the curtains drawn, the two table lamps alight-hers and the one

I know this because on the second page it stated this: “She knew he didn’t want to speak much until the first drink was finished” (177). From this, it’s clear that this might happen daily. Lastly, it is very clear to me that Mrs. Maloney is content with her husband: “and she, on her side, was content to sit quietly, enjoying his company” (177). “She loved to luxuriate in the presence of this man” (177). “She loved him for the way he sat loosely in a chair, for the way he came in a door, or moved slowly across the room with long strides. She loved the intent, far look in his eyes when they rested on her, the funny shape of the mouth, and especially the way he remained silent about his tiredness, sitting still with himself until some of it went away” (177). It is very clear to me that she is content with her husband. She enjoys his company in silence, she loves certain aspects about him, and even as you read further into the second page, she gets very worried about him. In conclusion, my first impression of Mary Maloney is that she is a patient, organized and content