Allow me to digress slightly and refer to a central aspect
of this story, which is intimately related to your question. This excellent short story
is usually used by teachers to demonstrate irony. Of course, as you know, there are
three types of irony - verbal, situational and dramatic. The answer to your question is
related to the dramatic irony, which is defined as when the reader and some of the
characters involved in a play or text know something important that some or all of the
characters do not know. What is darkly comic about the ending is the dramatic irony that
we as readers are privileged to know. Mary Maloney has just killed her husband, then has
calculatedly managed to give herself an alibi and then get rid of the murder weapon. Of
course, the policemen unwittingly help Mary get away with
it:
"Personally, I think [the murder weapon] is
right here on the premises."
"Probably right under our very
noses. What you think, Jack?"
And in the other room, Mary
Maloney began to giggle.
The
murder weapon was indeed "right under their very noses", but they were just enjoying the
meal. Given the emphasis that is placed on finding the murder weapon, ("It's the old
story. Get the weapon and you've got the man"), the fact that Mary manages to trick the
policemen into eating it, thereby ensuring herself her "innocence", ends this brilliant
tale and confirms the mood as being blackly humorous.
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