Lamb to the Slaughter: An Analysis of the Story and the Play

In the short story, "Lamb to the Slaughter", by Roald Dahl, an expecting woman

kills her husband out of rage when he reveals to her that he would be leaving her. The

short story was adapted into a teleplay for the Alfred Hitchcock series, by Roald Dahl

himself. In the teleplay, there were many yet subtle changes that occurred, which in turn

changed the viewer's perspective on the characters and the plot. Dahl changes a few

scenes in the teleplay as it is difficult to convey the thoughts expressed in the story (as

going on inside Mary's mind), such as Mary's views of Patrick, future of her child, and

her inner feelings. In the story, the key event of leaving her, leading to the explosive

behavior of Mary, is expressed in a few words as, "And he told her" (Dahl 319), takes so

many words and actions from the duo in the teleplay.

The first change made in the teleplay was that thoughts were not shown in the

Alfred Hitchcock adaptation of "Lamb to the Slaughter". For example, in the story, Mary

Maloney's yearning for her husband's company is expressed by writing that she was

thinking, "(...) she would glance up at the clock, but without anxiety, merely to please

herself with the thought that each minute gone by made it nearer the time he [her

husband] would come" (Dahl 317). In the teleplay, these thoughts were not mentioned.

The reason that Roald Dahl decides not to include the thoughts of any characters in the

teleplay is because it is very difficult to express the thoughts of a person through words,

unless they are explicitly saying that they are thinking a certain thought. The stating of a

thought would break the flow in a teleplay, making the whole situation awkward and

unreal, which is undesirable. The omission of thoughts is a great factor that plays in how

the viewers perceive each of the characters in the teleplay, which in turn might give the
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viewers a slightly different message than the one intended by the writer in the original

story.

The second change that occurred during the adaptation of the short story to the

teleplay is that Patrick Maloney explicitly states his reason for divorcing Mary in the

teleplay. In the short story, the reader is only told that Patrick is leaving and that Mary is

listening to him with a horror-stricken look on her face, leaving the reader to guess what

Patrick might have said. In the teleplay, Patrick Maloney explicitly says that he met

another woman and that he wants a divorce so that he can go and marry the other woman.

Roald Dahl added Patrick's reason for leaving Mary as it adds a dramatic effect to the

teleplay, making Mary look like the actual victim in the story. Dahl might have used this

inclusion to help Mary gain sympathy with the viewers and possibly make them slightly

biased towards her, which was easily achieved in the story without openly describing

their conversation.

The third and final change that occurred during the adaptation of "Lamb to the

Slaughter" into a teleplay, is that the policemen are slightly cold towards Mary, while in

the short story, the policemen seem to interact warmly with Mary like family friends. In

the short story, Mary is said to have "(...) fell right into Jack Noonan's arms, weeping

hysterically" (Dahl 321), while in the teleplay, no such incident happens and Mary makes

little to no bodily contact with any of the officers, and she acts quite reserved. The reason

Dahl might have made this change is to show that the officers in the teleplay are focused

on finding the perpetrator, almost suspecting Mary towards the end of the teleplay. Also,

Dahl might have made the change to indicate that Mary is a reserved woman who is

deeply grieving her husband's death, as she keeps to herself without making contact with
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the officers in the teleplay. Dahl might want to portray Mary as a reserved woman as it

helps create the feeling that Mary is innocent and that she is the victim.

In the adaptation of the short story, "Lamb to the Slaughter", into a teleplay, Dahl

uses subtle changes to alter the viewer's perception of Mary and the story as a whole.

Dahl might be trying to make the viewer feel as if they understand how Mary feels, and

how her actions are justified, making the viewer feel that Patrick is actually the one to

blame for the loss of his own life and the probable destruction of Mary's life. Dahl also

might want the viewer to feel that Mary is just an innocent, sweet mother-to-be, and

Patrick is this monstrous man who whole-heartedly cheats his wife and ruins the perfect

future that Mary dreams to have with him and their child.