The Landlady Roald Dahl Summary
Indicating that appearances may be deceptive, Roald Dahl, in his short story, “The Landlady,” portrays a murderous landlady with a friendly mask. Believing in the generosity of the woman, the main character, Billy, is unable to detect any sign of suspicious activity from the landlady. Although he notes many strange facts about her, he remains ignorant to his danger. The reader, instead, ironically knows of the woman evil intentions to kill him. This hints that danger may lurk where it is least expected. A positive impression of a person may not reflect their true personality. People are capable of pretending to something they are not. Just like how Billy was tricked into trusting the landlady, people who blindly trust others may be susceptible