Empowerment of Women

Throughout several of the short stories, women who are tormented by the men in their lives gain the upper hand without punishment. In Lamb to the Slaughter, Mary Maloney kills her husband who was going to leave her, and cleverly gets rid of the murder weapon by giving it to the cops to eat. Mary, the wife in William and Mary, also gets revenge when her husband is rendered still alive but powerless to stop her from enjoying all the things he had forbidden while he was in his body. In the Way up to Heaven, Mrs. Foster gets revenge on her husband who always makes her late when she leaves him trapped in the elevator. Women are also the voice of reason in several stories.

In Man from the South, the woman gets all her items from the South American, even though it costs her...