subject: Stieg Larsson Asks You To Stop. Do You Agree? [print this page] In the book The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Lisbeth Salander, the Stieg Larsson heroine (the girl), is a computer wizard complete with body piercing and tattoos. But she is also a victim of abuse and a dysfunctional girl, and of course, she is the central character of the series. She represents the dark side of the modern Sweden, since she is a victim of humongous amount of corruption going on in the country. Her guardian also abused her sexually, but his control over her was not complete.
Dont Read Any Further
More often than not, Stieg Larsson dares the readers not to watch, whenever something brutal or gruesome was going to happen. The themes of revenge, control and abuse keep recurring throughout the book, as is evident when Lisbeth Salander records her evidence against Bjurman, which is like tattooing him (psychologically). The mental condition that Lisbeth Salander is in, fuels the rage of Stieg Larsson against the broken government and society machinery in Sweden.
Women Disappear All the Time in Sweden
Stieg Larsson says its all too easy in Sweden, since women disappear all the time and nobody takes note of what (and why it) is happening. When Henrik Vanger asks Mikael Blomkvist not to divulge what he knows, he says - Congratulations; youve managed to corrupt me. Mikael Blomkvist follows the story of disappearance of Harriet Vanger in London and Australia where she has gone to escape abuse in Sweden, as she wants to become a normal woman, wife and mother.
Relationship against Conventional Wisdom
Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist are not the usual heroine and hero since their relationship is not built on the conventional wisdom. While Salander does start to love Blomkvist (by the end of the book), when she sees him with Berger, she suffers another form of abuse this time its emotional (she is not familiar with this type of abuse). The pain she goes through is immediate and fierce so difficult to bear that she stops midway, and cant move anymore. The result? Lisbeth Salander goes back to her isolated world yet again.
Sociopath Due To Unusual Childhood
Lisbeth Salander can be described as a sociopath who did not go through the usual childhood, as she manipulates things for her gain, and does not have any emotions. Its not that she doesnt feel things, she hasnt learnt how to feel things and emotions. She was brought up in a broken home, and she hasnt seen any stable environment yet, so she doesnt know if such a thing exists.
