"Compare the way in which Helen Stoner and Mary Maloney are treated in the two stories
"Compare the way in which Helen Stoner and Mary Maloney are treated in the two stories. They are innocent and guilty players, but how are they represented by their respective authors?"
This essay will consist of a study of the short story, 'The Speckled Band' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle written in 1292. Short stories are condensed fictional narratives, which have been popular since the nineteenth century and still remain so today. They typically concern a relatively small number of characters involved in a single event or situation. There is usually only one thermatic focus, aimed at provoking a single emotional response from the reader. Short stories may be created or written for magazine articles but have also developed into a real significant work of prose fiction. The dialogue is used very carefully in a short story due to a lack of space for extended development of conversation and narrative. The length of short stories vary.
The two story I will be looking at is from the murder mystery genre. This is a category in itself. Murder mysteries hold certain connotations that we constantly associate with the genre, for example, a detective, a victim, a culprit and often believers. The narrative is often concentrated around an investigation, but may offer a variety of view points i.e. from the detectives point view, from the victims point of view, or from the murderers point of view.
Due to the different times that the two stories, I have been asked to analyse, were written in the demands of society would be totally different, causing actions and responses to be different. The 1800's expressed a repressed society for women. Their lives were limited and activities often had to be supervised by, whereas the late 1950's, the feminist movement was at a high, offering women greater opportunities and high demand for equality.
Both stories offer different points of view, 'Lamb to Slaughter' the story tends to come from the murderers point of view, Mary Maloney, and how she plans to cover up the murder of her husband. However, in 'The Speckled Band' it tends to come from the detectives point of view, Sherlock Holmes and his plans to investigate the situation, concentrating less on the women and more on the investigation due to s. Roald Dahl's story is more modern and female concentrated and is from the male point of view with a more important female character again due to ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
Both stories offer different points of view, 'Lamb to Slaughter' the story tends to come from the murderers point of view, Mary Maloney, and how she plans to cover up the murder of her husband. However, in 'The Speckled Band' it tends to come from the detectives point of view, Sherlock Holmes and his plans to investigate the situation, concentrating less on the women and more on the investigation due to s. Roald Dahl's story is more modern and female concentrated and is from the male point of view with a more important female character again due to the period of time it was written.
Roald Dahl begins his story by creating a rather cosy picture of Mrs. Maloney and her role as a loving wife caring for her husband,
"She love to luxuriate in
the presence of this man."
The story 'Lamb to Slaughter' is based around one scene, Mary's house. Doyle's story concentrates more on the male character, and Holmes expresses the risk that Helen has taken, by seeking his help,
"This is very deep business".
The story 'The Speckled Band', is based around Helen's travels to London from her house in Stoke Moran, hence offering further differences. One of the main difference between the two stories is that Mary Maloney is guilty of the crime, but Helen Stoner is not.
Mary and Helen are two very different people when concentrating on their physical differences. Mary is a healthy, happy, content wife and soon to be mother,
"Her skin - for this was her
sixth month with child - had
acquired a wonderful translucent
quality, the mouth was soft,
and eyes, with their new placid
look, seemed larger, darker
than before."
Helen is tired, sad, frightened, 'haggered', unhealthy and single, and has been for a long time. She has no-one to turn to,
"Her features and face were
those of a young woman of
thirty but her hair was shot
with premature grey."
Although there are a lot of differences between the two stories, the structure of the two is quite similar due to the fact that both Helen and Mary are in similar, delicate situations, that need careful consideration. Both stories have a strong female character all be them, having different strengths.
Mrs. Maloney has physical strength as she killed her husband but she doesn't have courage as she didn't own up to it. She is hurt by what Mr. Maloney has told her, provoking an irrational response causing her to swing the frozen leg of lamb at him. She is very strong,
"She might just as well have
hit him with a steel club."
Mary is very rational and doesn't panick, she takes careful steps to cover her tracks. She is very methodical and because her husband was a detective, she knows exactly what to do,
"As the wife of a detective,
she knew quite well what the
penalty would be."
Mrs. Maloney cooks the lamb, rehearsed an act for the grocer and left the house. When she comes back, phones the police and the conclusion is ironic as the police eat the evidence.
"She wants us to finish it.
She said so. Be doing her a
favour."
The detectives are oblivious to her crime,
"Personally, I think it's right
here on the premises. Probably
right under our very noses."
However, Helen Stoner does have courage as she has so much determination to find out how her sister died. It took immense courage to embark on a journey to consult an investigator, as it was unheard of a woman doing this alone at the time.
"I shall go mad if it continues."
Helen has lost her mother and sister and feels alone and depressed. When her mother died in a railway accident, her father, Dr. Roylott, became very violent,
"A man with immense strength,
and absolutely uncontrollable
in his anger."
Helen's life had become very unpleasant and sees no hope for the future until she can uncover the truth. She hasn't been able to sleep since her sister's death.
"My sister and I, as you will
recollect, were twins, and you know how subtle are the links
which bind two souls which
are so allied."
Helen feels as though her soul is dead. She thinks Holmes is her only chance to find an answer. She has her suspicions of Dr. Raylott as she knows his strength. Helen is very scared of her stepfather and is frightened about how he will react to her suspicions.
In both stories, the two women are asked questions by the detectives. Mary's husband was a detective and so she knows the people questioning her. The detectives speak to her with no suspicion. They were very, very caring, kind, and sympathetic and informal with her. When speaking on the phone to Mrs. Maloney, they were very brief - no questions were asked about the incident,
"Be right over!"
When the detectives arrive, they asked short questions, were very respectful and didn't want to discuss matters in front of her,
"There was a great deal of
whispering and muttering."
They were 'exceptionally nice' to her. The detective asked her closed questions in which no detailed answers were necessary.
"Which grocer?"
They have no reason to suspect her and Mary's nervous disposition makes the detectives nervous, making them more determined to leave her in peace.
Helen Stoner, however, is asked open ended questions because Holmes and Watson need to know every last detail about the situation. Helen has gone to them so they don't know each other, this is their first meeting together. She is asked very formal questions but with care and respect. The detectives are more interested and serious and cover all areas. Miss Stoner answers questions to the best of her knowledge.
"And now I beg that you will
lay before us everything
that may help us in forming
an opinion upon the matter."
By looking at the two stories, 'Lamb to Slaughter' and 'The Speckled Band', it has come to me a lot clearer, the changes between the ways in which people lived in different societies and behaved in different times. Their, behaviour and language, also speech, has dramatically changed over time. It also shows us how similar people are and the way they still cling to hope and react in different situations.
I personally like 'Lamb to Slaughter'. I think this is because it suits my age better and I can relate to the period more. I feel that 'Speckled Band' was written for older people as it contains complex language and a more detailed narrative to follow. The language in Roald Dahl's story was in my opinion , more open and the narrative was clear. Although both stories had their assets, my preference was 'Lamb to Slaughter'.