Today we read the short story "Lamb to the Slaughter", (written by Roald Dahl) and after that we watched the Alfred Hitchcock version. I preferred the original short story a lot more than the screen version. This is because I liked the way the short story was written, with little dialog and a lot of good descriptions. Here is an example that I liked:
"She loved to luxuriate in the presence of this man, and to feel-almost as a sunbather feels the sun- that warm male glow that came out of him to her when they were alone together".
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| The policemen ate the evidence |
I think this sentence had an interesting comparison, and it also truly shows how much he meant to her. Unfortunately, I don't this is something that was as easy to see in the film. I know that it is not possible to read the characters' thoughts on film, but there are certain scenes I don't think they should have excluded. For example at the very beginning of the short-story, where Mary's "blissful part of the day" was described. I liked the Mary in the short story better than in the film, because she wasn't as frantic and annoying towards Patrick.
I did not expect the story to end the way it did, so I was rather surprised. However, this surprising ending made the short story interesting and fun. While reading it, I didn't understand why she put the meat in the oven, but it turned out to be a great way to remove the evidence.
Short but interesting post where you compare the short story and the screen play. I have to agree with you, the short story is so much better. I think you found a great paragraph to show that she did love her husband. That is not so apparent in the Hitchcock version.
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