Previous Next

Billy Weaver, the story’s young protagonist, is a polite and practical English man. Ironically, it is these otherwise innocent and admirable personality traits that land him in the clutches of a murderous landlady. Because Billy is trusting to a fault, practical considerations cause him to overlook an avalanche of warning signs surrounding the landlady, a stranger to Billy. Within a couple minutes of meeting her, Billy senses that the landlady might be unwell, but the cheap price of the room causes him to minimize this concern. The fact that the room is cheap and the place is comfortable also distracts Billy from the troubling observation that there appear to be no other boarders in the house. As the story progresses, Billy’s practical and trusting nature causes him to dwell on the seeming comfort of his surroundings and to ignore the landlady’s menacing aspect and strange behavior. Billy’s politeness likewise contributes to his demise. This go-along-to-get-along attitude proves decisive in the crucial moment when Billy chooses to enter the landlady’s home. Because the landlady is so insistent and seems so nice, it would be impolite—in Billy’s innocent and congenial mind—for Billy not to come inside. Later on, Billy says he’s not a bit hungry, but accepts the tea and biscuits anyway because it is the polite thing to do. By this time, Billy suspects something is amiss but doesn’t want to seem rude, and thus he doesn’t press the landlady until after he has already drunk the poisoned tea.

Previous section Character List Next section The Landlady

Take a Study Break