” The Landlady ” by Roald Dahl is a short story about a young man named Billy Weaver who needs a place to stay for the night. He ends up going into a boardinghouse, where he is greeted by a landlady who ushers him in. He notices that the landlady has stuffed her dead pets. Later, the landlady asks him to write his name in a book so she can “remember his name.” He sees two names, of men who came 3 and 2 years ago. He remembers their names from a newspaper that said they had gone missing. She gives him a cup of tea that tastes like bitter almonds, and when he asks whether she has had any other visitors besides him lately, she says no.
As it turns out, the tea was actually poisoned with cyanide, and the landlady poisons men and stuffs them like with her pets. The two men went missing because of this. In the story, the landlady says that the men haven’t went missing and are still staying on the 4th floor, where they are stuffed.
I don’t really know how I feel about this story. It was really interesting, but I find it eerie and creepy. I can imagine everything happening, though I don’t want to. I feel like this wouldn’t be a story I would have read if I wasn’t required to. I don’t like horror at all, whether shows, books, or movies.
To me, the theme of the story is pretty clear: be wary of strangers, and don’t trust everyone you meet. We can see that poor Billy was naive and trusting. Even though he thought the landlady was a bit eccentric, he went in anyway because it was cheep and because he was tired. The landlady seemed to be kind, so Billy didn’t mind anything. He should have realized that there is more than meets the eyes. After his already made bed, seeing the stuffed pets, and the suspicious names, he should have hightailed out of there.
I feel like this story represents the young, naive population vs. the crazy, bad population. I bet any little kid would go off with a stranger offering them candy unless they know the danger of it. We all need to remember that people can be bad or mentally unstable, and not be naive like Billy.
If you like a bit of thriller, I would recommend this story because it kind of gives you the chills. I wouldn’t recommend it if you are like me and don’t like horror. All in all, I think it is really eye-opening and makes you think about strangers. It does require a little background research though, because the story does not directly state that the men are poisoned and stuffed.
In conclusion, ” The Landlady ” is a very interesting story that made me think a lot. I think if you read it, it might make you see the world in a whole new way.