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When we left off reading "Lamb to the Slaughter," Mrs. Maloney finds out that her husband wants a divorce. What are her actions as a result of this news? Provide specific details from the text to respond to this question.

a) She becomes emotionally distraught and cries.
b) She prepares a meal for her husband.
c) She becomes calm and composed.
d) She reports her husband to the police.

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Final answer:

Mrs. Maloney, upon learning of her husband's intent to divorce, kills him with a frozen leg of lamb and then prepares a meal to establish her alibi.

Step-by-step explanation:

When Mrs. Maloney finds out that her husband wants a divorce in "Lamb to the Slaughter," her actions are drastic and demonstrate a shocking turn from a loving wife to a perpetrator of violence. Specifically, Mrs. Maloney's actions correspond to option b) She prepares a meal for her husband. However, this is an oversimplification of the events. In more accurate detail, after hearing the news of her husband's wishes, Mrs. Maloney is initially in disbelief. As she processes the situation, without a word, she walks to the freezer, takes out a leg of lamb intended for dinner, and then, in a moment of rage, strikes her husband on the back of the head with the frozen leg of lamb, leading to his instant death. Only after committing the murder does she then calmly proceed to prepare the meal, an act which becomes part of her alibi to cover up the crime.

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