Short Story Review: Lamb to Slaughter

With Halloween just around the corner, there hasn’t been a better time to read an unsettling story. “Lamb to Slaughter” by Roald Dahl is just that, as it tells the story of a wife that murders her husband after he tells her he plans to leave her. Roald Dahl’s classic style of storytelling brings the story to life, and leaves the reader feeling a little more suspicious of those around them.

Roald Dahl, without question, is a fantastic author. He has written books such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, and the BFG. His tone is defined by short, to the point statements, adding to the enjoyment of the piece and humanizing the characters. He employs this style of writing in this short story, but adds sophistication to the piece because it’s no longer targeted at children. 

The characterization of the wife is what really makes the story shine. When the story starts, she is seen as a dutiful housewife, pregnant and eager to please her husband. However, as the story progresses, she becomes a different person as she trys to get away with the murder. Dahl writes her as keeping up her housewife part of her personality, and makes her calm and collected on the outside. She is still seen as this dutiful housewife to others, which is what allows her to get away with her crime.

The setting, of course, plays an integral part of the story. It is set in a time where the wife is seen as fully dependent on her husband, and women are expected not to be able to accomplish as much as men. This helps prove the wife in two ways: the husband was never expected to leave her and she was seen as completely innocent. In a time when everything seemed to be picture perfect, an event like this seemed impossible.

The way she got away with her crime was very poetic, which she was able to do because of her characterization. This innocent persona she had is what convinced the cops she wasn’t the perpetrator, which was imperative to how the story played out. If they hadn’t thought there was no possible way it wasn’t her, they wouldn’t have eaten the lamb’s leg.

This lamb leg was what the wife killed her husband with–she knocked him over the head with it, and cooked it normally to get rid of the evidence. When the cops came to investigate she gave them the lamb to eat. As they were discussing the possible murder weapons of the case and said it could be right under their noses, the reader can see the wife start to giggle. The irony of the situation aside, the lamb leg reveals something deeper. Innocent looking things can be used in an unexpected harmful way, which symbolizes the wife’s character. 

With all the talk over the wife, it is easy to forget the husband. However, he plays a significant role into why the wife  is the way she is. The wife  kills the husband after learning of his plans to leave her, but in  the story, Dahl makes a choice of not writing out the dialogue; he rather paraphrased it and focused on how the wife is reacting internally. By making this choice, it becomes clear that the husband is more of a side character. He serves the purpose of helping flesh out the wife’s character, and was never meant to be an important part of the story.

Through the setting, the symbolism, and the characterization, it becomes clear that the main theme of this story is that one can never be sure of what something is capable of, even if it seems to be a certain way. the actual story of what happened seemed so outlandish that the policeman investigating the case ate the murder weapon. who serves as an example that things often go deeper than the surface level, and first impressions are usually untrue.

Overall, this story is a great one to read just in time for Halloween. It has a creepy plot which leaves the reader unsettled, but most importantly, it portrays an important theme and lesson.If you are familiar with Roald Dahl’s style of writing,  this story is like his children’s stories grew up. The story is engaging beginning to end, and leaves the reader feeling reflective.