Search results
- The story’s antagonist is the unnamed landlady who runs the Bed and Breakfast that Billy chooses to stay in. Although she appears to be sweet, friendly, and generous, the story’s plot twist reveals that she is a cruel woman, or insane, capable of horrifying and wicked crimes.
www.litcharts.com/lit/the-landlady/characters/the-landlady
People also ask
Who is the antagonist in the landlady?
Who is the landlady in Bath?
Who are the characters in the landlady?
Who is Mr Greenslade in the landlady?
Who does Billy remember in the landlady?
How old is the landlady?
The story’s antagonist is the unnamed landlady who runs the Bed and Breakfast that Billy chooses to stay in. Although she appears to be sweet, friendly, and generous, the story’s plot twist reveals that she… read analysis of The Landlady.
The Landlady. A middle-aged woman who runs a bed and breakfast in Bath. The landlady is off-putting, if seemingly kind, and invites Billy to board with her. Read an in-depth analysis of the Landlady.
The story’s antagonist is the unnamed landlady who runs the Bed and Breakfast that Billy chooses to stay in. Although she appears to be sweet, friendly, and generous, the story’s plot twist reveals that she is a cruel woman, or insane, capable of horrifying and wicked crimes.
Need help with The Landlady in Roald Dahl's The Landlady? Check out our revolutionary side-by-side summary and analysis.
- A Shocking Horror Written by Roald Dahl
- Summary of "The Landlady"
- Theme: Appearance vs. Reality
- Analysis
- Comments
Among the many memorable stories of Roald Dahl, "The Landlady" is a standout. It's a horror story with gradually building tension, leading to a shocking conclusion. It's a manageable length at about 3,500 words. This article starts with a summary and then looks at a theme, foreshadowing, ironyand some questions to consider.
Billy Weaver arrives in Bath by the London train at 9 p.m. It's cold with some wind. He asks the porter if there's a fairly cheap hotel nearby. He's directed to The Bell and Dragon about a quarter mile down the road. It's Billy's first time in Bath. He's been sent by the Head Office in London and is to report to the local Branch Manager as soon as ...
The landlady turns out to be a sinister character. Obviously, she couldn't be presented this way throughout the story. We'd question Billy's intelligence, and there'd be no mystery or surprise for us. This makes it necessary that there be a gap between how things seem and how they really are. We're alerted early on to the fact that Billy, in his yo...
1. What are some examples of foreshadowing?
The foreshadowing starts in the first paragraph: it's "deadly cold," and "the wind was like a flat blade of ice on his cheeks." The "deadly" part turns out to be right on, and there are literal blades in his near future. While his hostess serves the tea, Billy notices she has red fingernails. This could make us think of blood. Later, we find out that she has blood on her hands and that she literally kills people. The most obvious example of foreshadowing occurs late in the story when we know...
2. What are some examples of irony?
1. The landlady has a bed prepared for Billy with a hot water bottle and tells him he can light the gas fire, but she knows he won't be using any of these things. 2. When telling Billy that by law, he has to sign the guestbook, she says, "we don’t want to go breaking any laws at this stage in the proceedings, do we?" Her concern for obeying the law is funny, knowing what she's planning. 3. When Billy goes down to the warm and cozy living room, he thinks he's a "lucky fellow." Turns out he's o...
3. What are the warning signs that Billy's in a dangerous situation?
1. The cheapness of the room. 2. The landlady is very choosy about her boarders—she only takes in young, handsome men like Billy. 3. She says she was beginning to worry about Billy's arrival when she didn't even know he was coming. She was worrying about something selfish. 4. Her insistence that Billy sign the guestbook before bed implies he wouldn't be able to do it later. 5. The sanitized scent Billy notices from her is related to her taxidermy. 6. She says Mr. Temple didn't have a blemish...
Umesh Chandra Bhattfrom Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, India on December 19, 2019: Good review. Interesting. Thanks.
A short summary of Roald Dahl's The Landlady. This free synopsis covers all the crucial plot points of The Landlady.
Billy Weaver is a seventeen-year-old youth who has travelled by train from London to Bath to start a new job. Looking for lodgings, he comes across a boarding-house and feels strangely compelled by its sign saying "Bed and Breakfast".
