Roald Dahl's Lamb to the Slaughter and Arthur Conan Doyle's The Adventure of the Speckled Band

Roald Dahl's Lamb to the Slaughter and Arthur Conan Doyle's The Adventure of the Speckled Band

While both stories are murder stories, Lamb to the Slaughter is not a

typical murder mystery. A typical murder mystery would be one where a

dashing detective saves the damsel in distress from the evil murderer

in an old mansion. Quite simply, that describes the story in The

Adventure of the Speckled Band.

On the other hand, Lamb to the Slaughter is not a bit typical. It is

set in a warm home where a woman is knitting and peacefully counting

away the time before her husband comes home.

It could be argued that Mrs Maloney would more likely be a victim in a

story, rather than a murderer. In the early part of the play she is

described as:

"Her skin - for this was her sixth month with child - had acquired a

wonderful translucent quality, the mouth was soft, and the eyes, with

their new placid look, seemed larger, darker than before."

Dr Roylott is much more sinister, and in that way the story was quite

predictable:

"Violence and temper approaching to mania has been hereditary in the

men of the family"

The character of Mrs Maloney is by far the more interesting of the

two. She starts as a kind and loving housewife, and ends up as some

sort of almost psychopathic killer.

There are many cultural differences between The Adventure of the

Speckled Band and Lamb to the Slaughter. We can see many technical

advances in Lamb to the Slaughter because of the differing time

setting. The Adventure of the Speckled Band has dogcarts, veils and

frock coats. Contrasting with this, Lamb to the Slaughter has

freezers, cars and ovens.

In The Adventure of the Speckled Band, women are regarded as helpless

and cannot make decisions. In contrast, Lamb to the Slaughter shows a

woman who can make decisions for herself. This is shown when Mrs

Maloney makes drinks. Mrs Maloney would appear to have a sort of

strength of character, shown by the fact that seems to be stable and

in control, even when Patrick is dead. In contrast, in The Adventure

of the Speckled Band the women seem helpless and unable to choose.

The mansion in The Adventure of the Speckled Band is typical of a

murder mystery story. This is shown by:"two curving wings, like the

claws of a crab, thrown out on each side". The Maloney household

however is not typical at all. It is a warm 1950's home. This is

probably to lull you into a false sense of security, and believe that

everything is calm before the shocking murder.