The opening three sentences of the story establish the goodness and dutifulness of Mary Maloney.
The room was warm and clean, the curtains drawn, the two table lamps alight—hers and the one by the empty chair opposite. On the sideboard behind her, two tall glasses, soda water, whiskey. Fresh ice cubes in the Thermos bucket.
She awaits her husband's return from work with thoughtful preparations, and when he does arrive, she allows him to unwind at his own pace. Mary "loved to luxuriate in the presence of" her husband, and readers may admire her love and devotion to him and the way she is attuned to his needs.
Once Patrick has told his six-months-pregnant wife that he is leaving her, readers may feel sympathetic toward Mary's almost robotic reaction. Patrick is an unsympathetic character, and his rejection of Mary and their unborn child makes him seem monstrous. Since the story is fictional, readers may allow themselves to feel that Mary's retaliation and extreme cleverness in covering up her crime are acceptable and ironically amusing. Mary Maloney is more than a simple, demure wife; she has the temerity to meet Patrick's cruelty with a game-ender.
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