“Lamb to the Slaughter is a 20th century story about a woman called Mary Maloney, who kills her husband, Patrick Maloney, using a leg of lamb. At first, this seems surprising as Mary seems a loyal, devoted and loving wife to Patrick and appears to love his company. “She loved to luxuriate in the presence of this man”. She seems almost obsessed with her husband and she is determined to cater for his every need, whether to get him a drink, or his slippers, or to make him calm and relaxed. It seems she keeps her own presence quiet and as reserved as she can until he is ready to talk. “She laid aside her sewing, stood up, and went forward to kiss him as he came in” “Darling, shall I get your slippers? ... It's a shame that when a policeman gets to be as senior as you, they keep him walking about on his feet all day long” Her tone is almost irritable as well as sympathetic that her husband could be treated in such a manner. The tone's one of contentment however.
The beginning of this story is speedier and the uneasy atmosphere of the murder mystery “The Speckled Band” has a much slower start until Sherlock and Watson reach Mrs. Stoner in Holmes front room, where she is sat, with mud splattered on her, shaking from anxiety rather than the cold, with a dark veil covering her face, the mood is generally calm and soft to begin with in fact the emphasis is all upon setting the background of Holmes and his cases before the reader.
The Speckled Band is a 19th century story about Sherlock Holmes who tries to find the underlying cause of a murder case involving Dr. Grimesby Roylott and his stepdaughter, Helen Stoner. Dr. Roylott kills Helen Stoner's sister with an Indian swamp adder, but until Holmes' involvement, the case has not been solved. Being a Sherlock Holmes story, there is a twist in it. Dr. Roylott didn't kill his daughter by throwing a snake at her, or by his own violence, instead he sent the Adder down a bell pull, which was installed in Julia Stoner, the victim's, room. The snake should bite the occupant of the bed, at some point and slip back out of the room, after injecting her with deadly venom through a small vent into Dr. Roylott's room, where he then returns it into a safe which, with the bait of a bowl of milk. His actions are carefully planned over a lengthy period of time.
The type of characters in each story are very much alike, but play the roles in a very different manner. First of all, in Lamb to the Slaughter, Mary Maloney, the killer is a frail, dependant, female who would do anything for her husband. She is weaker than her husband and seems to need him; it would seem she is his slave. “Now and again 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 when he would come” This implies she has no fear of him, she just adores being with him. “She laid aside her sewing, stood up, and went forward to kiss him as he came in. As soon as he arrives, her attention is focused solely upon him. The manner of her behaviour creates the impression of a very happy couple who have everything they want therefore a murder is not anticipated. However, in The Speckled Band, the victim is a frail, dependant female.
She was isolated and scared of her stepfather, after her sister had recently died, which would have been saddening for her she seems more isolated than ever. She never had visitors, because everyone in the village was scared of the Doctor. “Her features and figure were those of a woman of 30, her hair was shot with premature grey, and her expression was weary and haggard… She was indeed in a pitiable state of agitation, her face all drawn and grey, with restless frightened eyes” It is clear her experiences over time have become to affect her health and appearance. She seems desperate to share her burdens. “Sir, I can stand this strain no longer; I shall go mad if it continues. I have no one to turn to - None, save only one, who cares for me, and he, poor fellow, can be of little aid.” People in the village disliked the Roylotts, as the doctor was aggressive and nasty. People were scared of the doctor. He murdered his native butler, and he keeps two wild animals, he also converses with gypsies, as they are his only friends.
