Lamb to the Slaughter begins by introducing Mary Maloney. She epitomises a stereotypical 1950’s housewife and fulfils the criteria laid down in a good housewife’s guide. The room is perfection as she awaits her husband’s return. “The room was warm and clean, the curtains drawn, the two table alight!” She has created utopia for her husband by giving everything that any husband would want after a good day of work. Mary would do anything for her husband and readers see that he is the fulcrum around which her life revolves around.
The three women chasing Tony Kytes are described as objects, through a physical point of view. Thomas Hardy demonstrates to the readers that no woman in the story and in Victorian Times are treated as individuals and are all described in the same way. “Light tender little thing”. They were treated as outsiders and were regarded as second-class citizens. Men in Victorian Times were acknowledged as superior and only interested in women to look good on their arm. Men had superficial minds. Women who were educated turned men away and it was better for them to have no education, as they were called blue-stockings when educated.
Mary Maloney idolises her man and recognises every move and sound he makes. She is happiness personified when he is around and waits to be the perfect wife for him. He is like her sun God and enriches her, giving her the warmth to glow. Mary Maloney worships him like a saint. He is the icon to her passion. “She loved to luxuriate in the presence of this man” Men are seen initially in both stories as superior and women are quite content to stay in second class position in society. Primarily women wanted to be controlled by men and treat men as superior beings.
All women are taught by their mothers to flirt outrageously with men and use all their feminine charm so as to ensure a proposal of marriage. The way in which the-three women behave shows the desperation for Tony’s attention and they force him to look at them. The three girls are described identically and only their names show which girl they really are. They are seen as having the same identity and having no personality of their own. “Am I not prettier than she”. The women force him to admit whether she is prettier and judge by her looks, not her intellect. Throughout the story women show desperation for marriage and all emphasise is on how they try to achieve a proposal of marriage.
Mary Maloney perceives she has a perfect utopian marriage. She is carrying her husband’s child and has created her own little world where she is blissfully content. “She loved him for the way he came in the door” She knows every intimate detail about him and is shown to live in a very naïve world.
All women in Tony Kytes show they are prepared to degrade themselves and put their dignity aside for the sake of a wedding ring. Tony knows how important marriage is to them and uses emotional blackmail. “Might but a loving question?” He doesn’t propose but the hint of marriage is good enough to get them to do whatever he desired. Victorian men had power and total control over women. The women were willing to hide in the back of a wagon and this highlights the importance of marriage to woman.
Mary Maloney is forced into the real world when her husband delivers the shocking news to her. As readers we believe this news is of an affair with another woman. Mary Maloney offers her own dream world of denial. She cannot accept the news and her initial reaction is to act as if she is anaesthetised, and has entered her own world of numbers where she feels no emotional hurt from the news of her husband leaving her, The news and her first reaction is to act as if she is anaesthetised, and has entered her own world of numbness where she feels no emotional hurt from the news her husband is leaving her. The news of losing the man she loves is too great for her to take in. When she thought she woke up again, she might find none of it had every happened. When Mary Maloney actually kills her husband by clubbing him she finally wakes up, it is a crime of passion. When she comes round metaphorically her mind is in another realm soon, however, her mind becomes intellectually agile and clearly alert, showing she has a quick-thinking brain. Mary makes the decision to save herself for the sake of her child. Now she is an independent woman. Her child has become her fulcrum. She moves swiftly, calculating all her steps like a sensible lady. She practises her alibi superlatively and puts on a public performance to persuade she is an innocent 1950s housewife. “Puts on her brightest Snule! Mary uses the role of a 1950s woman to support her in her alibi.” In the Arch Deceiver the assumption is made their women are simply physically inferior unlike men “Why did you leave the reins.” Men’s role in life is to look after women. Hannah’s father answers on her behalf about whether Tony can marry her. “She is not willing” If virginity was in the case then she would have been forced to marry Tony. In Victorian Times women were possessions of their fathers to be handed on to the husband as his possession. Fathers believed they had the right to answer on behalf of their daughters. The final aspect of Lamb to the Slaughter explains to us about Mary Maloney’s intellect. Mary uses her femininity and cons the British Police force. They instantly assume the killer is a man, believing her alibi and don’t even consider a soft and gentle, loving women like Mary Maloney could be capable of committing such a gruesome crime. Mary runs into a police officers arm and conforms to his expectations and hugs him. “Always treated her kindly.” She acts like a woman incapable of murder and performs perfectly. Ironically not only has she committed the crime, she got the police officers to eat the evidence, “kitchen eating” Mary proves women can be superior to men and use their intellect agilely. Neither unity nor Hannah agrees to marry Tony “His jaw drops” as he is expecting all the women to be falling in deep love with him. Mille is left and only marries him as she is desperate for marriage emphasising again the need for Victorian women to be married.
Hardy’s story is mocking of women during the Victorian Times. He used the story to authenticate the abuse women had to face because society forced them to believe they needed to have a man to gain status.
Dahl destroyed the myth of women being inferior and incapable of intelligence and confirmed to readers that women can do anything just as well as men. He used a serious crime such as murder to prove to people that women are able to think for themselves and look after themselves. He used Mary Maloney to establish his theory of equality between men and women.
