The Land Lady by Roald Dahl Analysis

  “The Land Lady,” by Roald Dahl is about a man, Billy, who needs a place to rest overnight, and was going to go to a hotel, “The Bell and Dragon,” but a bed and breakfast place caught his eye, so he decided to stay there. Once inside, Billy meets the Landlady, who owns the bed and breakfast. She gives him odd vibes, looking at him funny, and making him sign in, on a list with only two other entries, from years ago. He finally understands that this lady stuffed her parrot and daschund, and it is inferred that she did the same with the last two guests, who are “still here.” It is also inferred she planned on killing and stuffing Billy as well. The story is told through a 3rd person limited lens, because the narrator seems to only know what Billy does, and discovers new things at the same pace Billy does. In this story, the author wants readers to know that the landlady is not stable, and he (Roald Dahl) wants us to infer about what happened to the last two guests, and what will happen to Billy.  The story surprised me when I figured out that the landlady stuffed the dog and parrot, and that she did the same to her guests. I was expecting something “fishy” to happen, since I found this story in the “Horror” short story section, but I was definitely not expecting the lady to kill and stuff the men, and her pets. Throughout the story, the author expects readers to know what a bed and breakfast is, because if you didn’t know, the story could be a little confusing, as well as what a landlady is. Aside from the diction, Dahl assumes we understand the outcome to guests staying at this particular bed and breakfast: death. This story confirmed my thinking about staying in a stranger’s house not being a smart idea. I would personally never do such a thing because you never know who the person is and what they’re capable of. I was also a bit confused about the story because I didn’t understand why there weren’t more guests. The other guests too would have stumbled upon this place, not expecting any harm, so why did she not just have more “friends?”  This story allowed me to reflect on my life. I learned that I do not trust strangers very much, which I perceive as a good thing. The story will better me because I will continue to distrust people until proven I can trust them. It may be a defense mechanism, but I think it is a good one to have. Ultimately, I think this story motivated me to be more helpful and trustworthy to people, because there are people, like the landlady, who hurt people. People in everyday life might not go to the extremes that Roald Dahl’s character (the landlady) did, but they still hurt others. Also, I have learned the value of trust in making decisions. If Billy hadn’t been so trusting of this lady he’d never met, he might have survived and had a cozy night at “The Bell and Dragon.”