Final answer:
In 'Lamb to the Slaughter' and 'The Landlady' by Roald Dahl, the relationships between the female villains and their victims begin with trust, but each story reveals a distinct kind of betrayal based on the level of intimacy and duration of the relationship.
Step-by-step explanation:
Comparing and contrasting the relationships between the 'villain' and their 'victim' in 'Lamb to the Slaughter' and 'The Landlady,' we notice some intriguing similarities and differences. In both short stories written by Roald Dahl, we encounter female villains who maintain a superficially positive relationship with their victims. In 'Lamb to the Slaughter,' Mary Maloney is the devoted wife who murders her husband with a leg of lamb after he announces his intent to leave her, whereas in 'The Landlady,' the eponymous character appears as a kindly hostess who poisons her guests.
The relationships in both stories start with a sense of trust and normalcy. Mary, as a loving wife, and the Landlady, as a hospitable caretaker, both betray this trust, which is a major point of comparison. However, the relationships diverge in the intimacy and duration of the interaction. Mary's relationship with her husband is one of domestic familiarity and long-term commitment, contrasted with the Landlady's transient, superficial relationship with her victims. These contrasting relationships display the layered complexity of betrayal and the unexpectedness of its source.