The landlady

Outer characterization

The landlady is a character in the short story “The Landlady” by Roald Dahl. She is seen from Billy’s perspective. According to him, the landlady is a woman of “about forty-five or fifty” (l. 124), with “a round pink face and very gentle blue eyes” (ll. 139-140). She has a chemical smell, which is probably caused by the substances she uses for taxidermy (ll. 391-397). She has “small, white, quickly moving hands, and red fingernails” (ll. 353-355). She lives alone and owns a boarding house.

Inner characterization

At first, the landlady appears to be friendly and nice. Billy thinks that her attitude resembles that of “the mother of one’s best schoolfriend welcoming one into the house to stay for the Christmas holidays” (ll. 160-163). This shows sh...