The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Hits Close To Home
I first saw the book in my 16-year-old grandsons hands. The cover image and colorsblazing yellow and orange with a lime green dragoncaught my attention more than the title, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I didnt ask my grandson about the story, but I assumed that since his mother writes young-adult fiction, it was perfectly okay for him to read.
The next time I heard about the bookthe first in a trilogy by Swedish author Stieg Larssonwas when my 42-year-old son-in-law raved about the novels, adding how sad it was that Larsson had died shortly after turning in the third one, never living to see his works international success. I was puzzled as to why a 42- and 16-year old would be reading the same books.
I began to focus on the first book and comments from my adult friends whod read it. Most said The Girl was a page turner that you couldnt put down. Then I finally woke up and realized that it had been a New York Times bestseller for 43 weeks! Certainly, Id been asleep at some switch.
When a friend whod read the book told me that the movie version was playing at a local theater, I immediately made plans to see it with my husband and neighbor. As I bought the tickets, I asked the young man at the box office the movies rating.
It doesnt have a rating, but if it did, it would probably be R, he said.
Oh, some sex and violence, I replied, and went into the crowded theater.
Sex and violence indeed.
Sex and violence are equal-opportunity employers in this film.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Bjurman is appointed as Lisbeth Salander‘s new guardian when Holger Palmgren suffers a heart attack. At their second meeting he informs Salander that she has to give over access to all of her bank accounts. Palmgren allowed her to control her own finances but Bjurman wants to control every aspect of her life.
When Lisbeth’s computer is destroyed, she is forced to go to Bjurman for money. Bjurman, to prove who’s in charge, molests her and forces her to pleasure him sexually. Because of her previous problems with the police, Lisbeth decides to take matters into her own hands. At their next meeting, she comes prepared with a hidden video camera. But, to her horror and dismay, she realizes she has misjudged Bjurman he attacks and brutally rapes her.
Once she recovered, she pays Bjurman another visit but has come prepared, this time with a taser gun. She subdues him before he can attack her again and ties and gags him. She continues to tell him that he will make non-existent reports on her good behavior and two years time, he will declare her legally competent and send the reports to the courts.
He stares at her hatefully and thinks hateful thoughts before she decides to let him live. Thinking that “she’s dim enough” to let him live, she had borrowed tattoo equipment and tattoos the words “I AM A SADISTIC PIG AND RAPIST” into his chest.
The Girl Who Played With Fire
After the events of Dragon Tattoo, Bjurman was devastated and felt emasculation. He took time off from work and dropped all of his clients except for Lisbeth Salander. He was terrified of what would happen if the video of him raping her came out. One night he awake to find, to his terror, Salander standing at the foot of his bed with a gun telling him that she knows that he hasn’t been living up to his end of their deal and warns him not to remove the tattoo she did or she will kill him. Tired of being controlled by Salander, Bjurman hires Zala to get rid of her. Then Bjurman is brutally murdered.
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Advokat Nils Erik Bjurman
Bjurman is a villain of the first order. When Salander’s original guardian has a stroke, Bjurman becomes her new guardian. Immediately he starts messing with her. First he takes away her bank account and puts her on an allowance. Then he forces her to perform oral sex in exchange for the release of her own money so she can buy a computer. He thinks, “This is better than a whore. She gets paid with her own money“ .Salander can’t find any dirt on him using her usual methods, so she uses herself as bait, hoping to get him on film raping her. Unfortunately, Salander doesn’t read Bjurman correctly. He shows her who he really is. He holds her captive and rapes her for about eight hours. She does get the whole thing on tape, though, and she returns to take control of him, using the recording as blackmail. She also gives him a nifty tattoo:The message was written in all caps over five lines that covered his belly, from his nipples to just above his genitals: I AM A SADISTIC PIG, A PERVERT, AND A RAPIST. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen the last of Nils Bjurman. He shows up in The Girl Who Played With Fire, nasty as ever. Now a question: Do you think Bjurman gets what he deserved from Salander? Or, does she become as bad as him by doing to him what he did to her? How much of her revenge is motivated by self defense and practicality, and how much by sheer vengeance?
Rapist With The Dragon Tattoo
I miss my old avatar
Dangit2019 said:It’s an overblown revenge fantasy, they tend to be intentionally hyperbolic rather than have strict moral groundings.
Fappy said:
Dangit2019 said:It’s an overblown revenge fantasy, they tend to be intentionally hyperbolic rather than have strict moral groundings.
Yeah, pretty much this. I enjoyed the film, but it definitely wasn’t perfect. Daniel Craig was the best part imo… but then he’s the best part of every film he’s in.EDIT: 9001st POST OMG! HOLY SHIT! I AM OVER 9000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
has read 4,010 manga books
zelda2fanboy said:
Hoplon said:
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Lisbeth Salander The Girl Who Survived: Rape Human Trafficking And Sexual Violence In Steig Larssons Millennium Trilogy
Originally written April 13, 2017.
Character Background
Lisbeth Salander is a forensic investigator for a private security company, Milton Security, in Sweden. A ward of the state, Lisbeth was removed from her home as a young girl and institutionalized after she tried to set her father on fire, hence the title of the film. Lisbeth is portrayed to possibly be on the autism spectrum, extremely intelligent with an eidetic memory, considered rude by Swedish social standards, she smokes heavily and has a fondness for junk food, and spends her time investigating, hacking into people she finds suspicious, occasionally using drugs, and visiting LGBT nightclubs .
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Plot, Themes, Character Development and Narrative
As men have been the ones who have attacked and raped Lisbeth throughout her life, Lisbeth has a distrust of men, given her experiences. But over the course of the investigation, she grows closer to Mikael Blomkvist, deciding to have sex with him. It is worth noting, however, that his consent is neither asked for nor given, but implied through his reciprocal actions. Perhaps Lisbeth does not ask for consent in her sexual relationships, but waits for implied reciprocation. It is not shown whether Lisbeth obtains consent from any other partners. Sex and nudity throughout these films is treated rather honestly, and more graphically in the American version.
Plot Themes, Messages, and Pivotal Choices in Fire
References
What Did Lisbeth Father Do To Her Sister
In The Girl in the Spiders Web, Camilla is revealed to be a manipulative sociopath who subjected her sister to psychological torture, and sided with her father when he abused her mother we finally find out what has become of Camilla, when she tries to seduce Blomkvist in order to gain access to her sister.
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The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo: Yikes And No Thanks
TRIGGER WARNING for this film. Really. This film contains explicit scenes of graphic sexual violence. I almost walked out, so please be careful. I am going to mention that it happened in this review, though not discuss any specific details.
A while back, Heroine Content reader -J- shared a trailer link in the comments and wondered what we would think of the main character Lisbeth Salander in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo . Since I am easily suggestible and it was playing up north at the art house theater, I set off one fine Sunday afternoon to relax with a little Swedish film entertainment. I had tried to avoid reading any reviews in much detail so as not to spoil the plot. What I knew: goth looking hacker girl investigates crime. So far, so good.
About halfway through the movie, I leaned over to my husband and whispered Im so sorry, I didnt know.
We both managed to stay in our seats, though it was touch and go. By the time we left, we both felt like wed been kicked in the stomach repeatedly.
Remember back in when I was all I dont know if I can really get behind this character even though I thought I would want to? Hit Girl, meet Lisbeth Salander. You two have a truckload in common.
Salander is one of two central characters in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Played by Noomi Rapace, Salander is a tattooed, pierced, bisexual hacker prodigy who is currently under the legal guardianship of the Swedish human services system.
Recent posts
A Disability Rights Perspective On Lisbeth Salander
Some books at a particular time in our lives, but we return to them when were ready. I remember first trying to read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson during my college finals in December 2010. Years later, after being sexually assaulted, I became obsessed with Larssons Millennium series and both its Swedish and American movie adaptations. Like many other fans, I admired Lisbeth Salanders fearless independence. Ironically, however, shes forced to depend on a guardian in a way thats unique to adults with mental illnesses and other disabilities.
I was fascinated by the character Lisbeth Salander partly because shes the opposite of me in many ways. Unlike Lisbeth, I have a physical disability and a supportive family. Although Ive taken self-defense classes, I cant imagine taking violent revenge on an abuser, as Lisbeth does. Identifying with Lisbeth was a safe outlet for anger that I didnt want to act on in real life. As Kate Scott explained in this 2018 BR Lisbeth upends cliched revenge fantasies of a male hero avenging a female victim. She is hunted she hunts the hunterWomen have revenge fantasies too. The original Swedish title of the first book, Men Who Hate Women, makes the theme of revenge on misogynists explicit.
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Stieg Larsson Silent As Real
Swedish writer says he did nothing and guilt fueled fight for women.
Aug. 5, 2010 — The scene toward the close of Stieg Larsson’s “The Girl Who Played With Fire” is gut-wrenching: Two men tie up and take turns raping a 16-year-old prostitute who has been lured to Sweden in a sex trafficking ring.
The wildly popular author of the “Millennium” trilogy, which also includes, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” and “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest,” is graphic in his descriptions of violence against women, and now his closest friend reveals why.
Larsson had his own dark secret. At the age of 15 he witnessed a gang rape and never intervened, according to longtime friend Kurdo Baksi. Days later, ridden with guilt, Larsson asked the victim for her forgiveness, but she refused.
That girl was Lisbeth, the name later given to the tattooed, Asperger’s-afflicted Lisbeth Salander — heroine of Larsson’s three novels.
The guilt over failing to act haunted Larsson his entire life and fueled the subject of his crime novels, according to Baksi, who wrote “Stieg Larsson: Our Days in Stockholm,” a soon-to-be published memoir devoted to setting the record straight about Larsson’s real-life commitment to social justice.
“It was his way of apologizing,” said Baksi, who is devoted to avenging the gang rape that haunted his friend for so many years.
So far, he hasn’t found their identities, but has pledged to continue the search.
Trigger Warning: This Novel Contains Violent Depictions Of Rape And Sexual Violence If This Is Triggering Please Do Not Read This Blog Post
Jessica Jones meets Lisbeth Salander on my book shelf.
To unwind after an eleven hour day, I like to curl up on my sectional sofa with a fuzzy blanket and read a book. I try to end my night reading, however I end up crashing at 8:30 with my boyfriend removing the book from my hands. Im a self proclaimed bibliophile as theyre certain books on my shelf I treasure more than others. One of these books is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
When I was a junior in high school, I enrolled in a Gothic & Detective Literature course. It was one of my favorite high school classes where I read Frankenstein, Dracula and A Study in Scarlet. One assignment was a book report to present to the class. As you can predict, I chose The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I was engrossed with the characters, the setting and the real life implications of the violence women face at the hands of entitled men.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo begins with Mikael Blomkvist, a disgraced journalist who lost a case of libel against a powerful industrialist. Immediately after the sentencing, hes summoned to Henrik Vangers mansion. Vanger is a retired CEO of a successful company who originally heard of Blomkvist from following his trial. Vanger says he will give Blomkvist evidence of this industrialists illegal activities in exchange for helping Vanger solve the murder of his niece, Harriet Vanger which occurred over 30 years ago.
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Graphic Novel Volume #1.
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Eva Gabrielsson Feud With Larsson Family Persists
Eva Gabrielsson, the writer’s partner of more than 20 years, reportedly holds Larsson’s computer and the fragment of a fourth science fiction novel.
Gabrielsson, the model for Blomkvist’s sometimes lover, Erika Berger, did not inherit the rights to his works or any part of his $30 million estate.
His widow is now embroiled in a fight with Larsson’s father and younger brother, Erland and Joakim Larsson, and Baksi has offered to intervene and “sit down to lunch” with the trio.
“We must find a solution, but Eva doesn’t like to listen and compromise,” he said. “It’s terrible.”
“The latest thinking is that the book could be completed,” said Barry Forshaw, who published this year the first Larsson biography, “The Man Who Left Too Soon.” “There’s a beginning and an end, but no middle.”
In America, readers have been “much more generous” to the family, said Forshaw. “But in Sweden, they are demonized. Eva Gabrielsson has presented herself as a victim like Lisbeth Salander. Both sides haven’t handled it well.”
Gabrielsson no longer talks to journalists and is reportedly writing her own memoir of life with Larsson. “She’s not giving away any secrets,” he said.
No one knows if more biographies are likely on the way. “When Elvis died everyone, including the hairdresser had a book,” said Forshaw. “But he was quite private.”
One of the controversial claims is whether Larsson was a good enough writer to pen the books and whether he was perhaps ghosted, in part, by Gabrielsson.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo: A Case For The Subversion Of Gender Stereotypes And Violence
When I first saw The Dragon Tattoo Trilogy , The Girl who Played with Fire , The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest In addition to Finchers 2011 adaptation) I had such a strong urge to write about them. I feel especially now, with the new film having been released , the trilogy needs to be examined again. As a fan of the films and books, and as a woman, I find this subject especially interesting. These stories have a special place in my heart. They are powerful, gritty, and beautifully honest. Yes, Im sure my topic of choice has been explored many times before, good, this is my take on it.
Elizabeth Salander is a fascinating character, Shes female but shes not classically feminine, she doesnt have the stereo-typical feminine traits, she is not exactly masculine either, and we know shes bisexual. Already, just with Salander, we have so much to examine through the lens of gender.
Lisbeth Salander unsettles the typical gender stereotypes. She triggers a great sense of female rage and rebellion. She can be seen as an emasculating character, but in truth she is fighting for herself to be seen as equal in a society engineered against her. She is a protagonist that evades all previously understood gender classifications. Its this rejection of conformity that makes her such a fascinating character study.
Gender and society stand front and center in both the books and films as clear, and often vicious, antagonists.
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