Hey friends,
There is an intriguing, chilling yet hilarious story that Road Dahl wrote that I sometimes think about. The story, Lamb to the Slaughter, explains how Mary Maloney, a delightful housewife kills her husband, Patrick with a frozen leg of lamb. Mary Maloney is at first portrayed as a naive housewife yet puzzling enough she knows how to perfectly cover her tracks and provide an alibi when she kills her husband.
The setting of the story begins with Mary Maloney at home sewing and waiting for her husband. She stays at home, performs the job of being the caregiver and child-bearer. Additionally, she is very content with welcoming her husband home and living in silence even if she had been desiring her husband’s company all day. Patrick appears to be inconsiderate of Mary’s feelings and comes home seemingly wanting to end his relationship with Mary. The events that follow tell us how Mary kills Patrick leaving detectives to wonder, “Where is the murder weapon?”
The first time I read the story, I read it for fiction’s sake and now that I began reading Woodward’s book-Conscious Uncoupling, I often think about how easy it is for us to be Mary Maloneys. The ending of love relationships is often characterized by bitter breakups, nasty arguments, and weeks, months, or even years of heartache. While many of us won’t go killing our mates, we often turn to rage and revenge as a resolve for lost love. Woodward in her book explains,
Being rejected by someone we love triggers the same alert in the brain as a primal threat.
Yet through my shortish and sad love life, I have found out that no one properly teaches us how to heal from heartache, and we sort of always bid for time to heal the wounds. But maybe that should change, maybe we should discover new ways of breaking up, healing, and loving again. But until then, maybe just maybe, a frozen leg of a lamb is not so implausible an idea for a murder weapon.😆😆😆
Have a great week ahead!
Ngoiri.
Interesting Stuff This Week
Short story- This story by Flannery O'Connor is one of my favorites of her short stories. Not only is it filled with humor but it has a weird grotesque character that O'Connor often never fails to use.
The Life You Save May Be Your Own
THE old woman and her daughter were sitting on their porch when Mr. Shiftlet came up their road for the first time. The old woman slid to the edge of her chair and leaned forward, shading her eyes from the piercing sunset with her hand.
Playlist- Last week we talked about eliminating decision fatigue and how it affects our lives. This week, I wanted to share this youtube playlist on women’s fashion. It not only simplified how I think about clothes but also revolutionized how I think about fashion.
Notes to keep
And even the nicest of us can be held hostage by our own biology and behave in the strangest of ways.
-Katherine Woodward Thomas (Conscious Uncoupling)