"Lamb to the Slaughter": Roald Dahl's Sacrificial Killing of Criminal Profiling Anonymous 12th Grade

One of Roald Dahl’s most popular, anthologized, and filmed stories is “Lamb to the Slaughter.” The title is an allusion to the ritualistic killing of lambs as part of an animal sacrifice. The contextual concept inherent in the reference is that the poor lamb remains completely unaware of his horrific destiny as he led to his agency of his own destruction. The question that thus becomes relative to Dahl’s story is who—or what—is the lamb here?

The most obvious answer to some readers might be that either Mary Maloney or her husband fills that role. Patrick Maloney is unaware that his revelation to reveal the marriage is over on this particular evening will lead him to his own death. Or, perhaps it is not the victim who is the lamb, but the murderer. The story concludes with the image of Mary giggling which successfully conveys the impression that she has actually gotten away with committing the perfect murder. On the other hand, are we not constantly reminded that there is no such thing as the perfect murder? Could that last lingering image of a cackling Mary Maloney not also be interpreted differently: as the beginning of a process leading her to the slaughter of her own sanity?

Still another interpretation is that the lamb is...