On the other hand Dahl uses phrases such as ‘The room was warm and clean’, ‘the curtains drawn’ and ‘Fresh ice cubes’ to create a warm domestic feeling, which works in harmony with the image of Mrs. Maloney and her feelings toward her husband. This causes the reader to feel relaxed without any suspicion that events such as a murder would occur but it might make you think, is it too perfect. He uses this kind of homely image to shock the reader later on.
‘The Speckled Band’ contains a man who is said to be ‘the world’s greatest fictional detective’- Sherlock Holmes. Holmes is presented as being a wealthy, very talented and a highly educated man. ‘Working as he did rather for the love of his art than for the acquirement of wealth’. This quotation shows the passion Holmes had for his art. He was an amateur whom in Victorian times was given a great deal of respect and was regarded highly of. He had a desire to help and he had the sufficient funds to pursue his passion.
He is not a typical detective; he does not look for the more obvious clues but only for the more demanding ones. He was very adroit in his passion.
On the other hand Jack Noonan and his team are unprofessional in their work. They are fumbling, casual and disinterested. The men are shown to have some common sense ‘get the weapon, and you‘ve got the man’ yet Mrs. Maloney still manages to out-manoeuver them. This is an ironic comment and is an example of dramatic irony. As their frustration increases they become weary and lazy. This is enough for them to accept drinks of whisky. ‘I might take just a drop to keep me going’. They start to get too relaxed and lose concentration on what they are supposed to be doing, which is to solve a suspected murder case. To show their ignorance the detectives also consume the evidence. ‘Probably right under our very noses’ I think Roald Dahl put this quotation to give some humour and show that people are sometimes not what they should be.
The problem in ‘The Speckled Band’ is Helen Stoner. Holmes has to make sure that Helen is not the next victim and at the same time he has to solve the mystery. She is introduced to Holmes and the reader at the same time. They work through the problem together. As they try to unravel the mystery, the reader also gets the chance to solve it using the clues in the story. The reader acknowledges Holmes’ acute observation of Helen’s hair being ‘premature grey’ suggesting that she has had much anxiety.
However in ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’, the problem is whether Mrs. Maloney will get away with committing the murder. Dahl introduces her as a warm loving wife who is expecting a baby. ‘She loved to luxuriate in the presence of this man’, this implies she is deeply in love with him. We empathise with the shock horror when she hears what her husband is intending to do. Dahl does not explain the facts but we imagine that he has another woman and he is leaving her. She makes up an alibi to protect the baby. The reader understands her “crime of passion”, as it seems he deserves everything he gets. (In fictional terms)
In ‘The Speckled Band’ the criminal is Dr. Roylott. He comes from an old but dissolute family. He is an educated man and got a medical degree while living in India. One point in the story when the reader is impressed with Roylott is when it says ‘Professional skill and force of character’. Then he has a character flaw. Apart from this, all the points describing Roylotts characteristics show how obnoxious he is. He is a violent man who indulges in ‘ferocious quarrels’. ‘He beat his native butler to death’ and was very lucky to escape a capital sentence. His success came from himself. This was very attractive to Victorians at that time. By creating this image in the reader’s mind Doyle has ensured a hatred of the character and has made sure that the reader thinks that Roylott will be the murderer, as he is the stereotype of a Victorian villain.
When Dr. Roylott visits Sherlock Holmes we get to see his physical description.
He makes a powerful entrance making the reader startled and scared of what he is going to do next. ‘A huge man framed himself the aperture’; ‘high thin fleshless nose’ and ‘resemblance to a fierce old bird of prey’ builds up tension and shows how Doyle tries to create an image of an evil man.
In ‘The Lamb to the Slaughter’ Dahl creates a different kind of evil. He builds up her character to be warm and genuine. Using quotations like she ‘was waiting for her husband to come home from work’, ‘she took his coat and hung it in the closet’ and ‘placid look’ creates an innocent compassionate wife. Using phrases such as ‘was curiously tranquil’ and ‘this was her sixth month with her child’, we get a picture of her personal description. Mrs. Maloney seems to be the exact opposite of a murderess. This is why the reader is so shocked when she murders her husband. Dahl ensures that the reader likes Mrs. Maloney by describing her in this way. The reader hopes she will get away with committing the murder and so keeps reading on to find out if she does or not.
She is not stereotypical because she is a woman, pregnant and seems perfect at first. However, she does act like a stereotypical villain when she makes up an alibi and rehearses in front of the mirror. She is a sinister lady. The fact that she was pregnant makes her seem unable of such an act of violence. This is an example of Dahl showing that appearances can be misleading.
Roylott’s motive is material well being. He married Helen Stoner’s mother for her money. He was aware that there was money held in trust and knew if Helen or Julia married then some of the money would go to them and he would be left with very little. He is a really scheming man.
In comparison, Mary’s motive is purely revenge, revenge for her husband spoiling her ideal home and marriage. She is angry at what her husband told her. Dahl does not give us a reason for why Patrick Maloney is leaving because he wants us to make our own conclusions from it. It does not matter why he is leaving; all that matters is that he is leaving Mrs. Maloney on her own. It would be acceptable to be a widow but not an abandoned woman.
Roylott is established as peculiar and having a temper. We are told he threw a blacksmith over a parapet, does not get on with his neighbours, and mixes with the gypsies who live of his plantations. He has a Cheetah and a Baboon whom were sent by a correspondent living in India which were feared by many of the villagers ‘almost such as their master’. This shows how daunting he must have been. He later gets sent a snake that he uses as his weapon.
Yet in ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ Mary schemes to survive. She is a good actress, cold and calculating. Her weapon is the leg of lamb; this is ironic in that it is a domestic object. She once was the perfect housewife. She is a woman and therefore not suspected by the police. This was the same case for the Victorians who also had set expectations. That is the man is the protector, woman is the weak victim, like Helen Stoner, who must be protected.
When the murder takes place he has just told his wife he is leaving her. He uses monosyllabic words that suggest he does not want to talk. There is no build up to this and his last words are ‘I‘m going out’. At no point has he seemed a likely victim because he is shown as being in complete control and the dominant partner. After she murders Patrick, Dahl uses rhetoric questions, which shows that she is thinking things through. ‘What about the child?’. At the end ‘Mary Maloney began to giggle’ when one of the detectives said ‘probably right under our very noses’. This shows the temerity of Mary Maloney.
In ‘The Speckled Band’ the drive to justice is much greater. Holmes is determined to bring down the killer. It is ironic that Roylott’s own weapon kills him. As a result of this Holmes says ‘In this way I am no doubt indirectly responsible for Dr. Grimesby Roylott’s death’. The Victorians had a view of justice as ‘eye for an eye’ and ‘tooth for a tooth’.
However in ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ Dahl leaves the ending open. It looks like Mary Maloney has escaped due to the unintelligent detectives consuming the evidence.
The reader does not necessarily want Mary Maloney to be caught as a result of her husband leaving her.
In my opinion I thought ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ was more enjoyable to read as it was shorter and more to the point whereas in ‘The Speckled Band’ it keeps on going. I would say that ‘The Speckled Band’ was more successful as a murder mystery because there were more problems to solve. In ‘The Speckled Band’ Dr. Watson was a key part for me to keep reading on because as he speaks to Holmes he leaves out key details which creates suspense and tension. Therefore it makes us guess how the victim was killed and it causes us read on to see if we are correct. Watson is telling the story after a long time after it actually happened when he is glancing over his notes. I also think that the different eras and the expectations of the different audiences played an important part when the author decided to write the endings. At the time of writing ‘The Speckled Band’ had an ending which pleased the audience.
In ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ Dahl does not give enough description. For example ’Simply walked up behind him and without any pause she swung the big frozen leg of lamb high’. However this works in his favour because it helps to strengthen the shock in the readers mind. I had half expected this ending because it was unrealistic. I would not classify
‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ as a mystery because usually the detective catches the murderer. The title of ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ is also linked to the murder and the victims. It is both a pun and a warning. Lamb means both the piece of meat used for slaughter and an innocent victim.
Although both stories have many differences, one thing I managed to find out was that they both use irony to make their final point. In ‘The Speckled Band’ Dr. Roylott is killed by his own weapon. Similarly in ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ the detectives eat the evidence.
All these differences are due to the fact that the stories were written one hundred years apart by different authors with different styles and had different expectations.
If Holmes had been the detective investigating Mr. Maloney’s death, would he have consumed the evidence or would he have drunk the whisky…?