The Landlady

The dachshund, who seems to be asleep in front of the fireplace, is one of the things that lures Billy into the boarding house. Its presence, like the presence of the stuffed parrot, makes the parlor seem inviting and cozy. It is possible that it is for this very reason–to lure in unsuspecting guests–that the dog has been placed in front of the fireplace. It is also possible that the stuffed animal is a genuine comfort for the landlady, as well as a bait for potential guests.

The moment when Billy touches the dog, having been invited by the landlady to do so, is also the moment when the real horror of the story is made manifest. The reader feels the horror, even if Billy does not, in the description of the dead animal’s “hard and cold” back and his “greyish-black and dry and perfectly preserved” skin (Lines 464-67). The stuffed dog in front of the fireplace is also shocking in a way that the perched, stuffed parrot is not. We are accustomed to seeing taxidermied animals mounted and displayed like ornaments, but not to them being placed in lifelike roles; we are also, as humans, more accustomed to identifying with dogs than with tropical birds.