The Locked-Room Scenario

The locked-room scenario refers to the isolated island that the crime takes place on. One of the reason the case of Harriet Vanger is so interesting is that she was on a locked-down island at the time of her disappearance, which would inevitably seem that she must be on the island somewhere. When Harriet was reported missing the only exit to the island, the bridge was blocked off where no body could get through, so the mystery remained how could Harriet go missing in such a confined area? Henrik shares with Blomkvist how police have hunted the island for her body, but nothing has turned up. This concept is used in mystery and thriller novels sometimes. It's a creepy yet frustrating concept for the reader to deal with. It seems impossible that someone could get out of a room that is locked from the outside, or from the inside, or such as this story an secluded island with no escape goats. It seems particularly impossible for Harriet to escape from the island considering the bridge was closed off at the time. I assume if the bridge was open her escape would be noticed anyway due to the Vangers being the only ones on the island.

Harriet Reveals Truth

As the case came to an end, with the help of Lisbeth, Blomkvist was able to track down where Harriet had been hiding all these years her family had been searching for her. Harriet took Anita's name and entered the country of Australia in 1965 to live freely. When Mikael had found Harriet he called her Harriet Vanger and she responded as if she never had changed her name to Anita. Harriet embraced her uncle when they were reunited. Henrick couldn't have been more happy and more grateful that he was seeing the young girl whom he considered a daughter. Harriet begged for forgiveness from her uncle and started to explain her reasons for running away. One of the most popular pieces of evidence in the case was the picture of Harriet at the Children's day parade. Blomkvist tried to get to the bottom of who Harriet was looking at. As Harriet explained to her uncle that she saw Martin at the Children's day parade as he had just gotten back from boarding school. She immediately fled the parade and went to find Anita for help. She asked Anita to take her across the bridge as soon as it was clear. She hide under a blanket in the back seat as Anita escorted her away from the family estate.

Ending

As the novel comes to an end Blomkvist is set free and he finally reveals the truth about the Wennerstrom case. Lisbeth is described as possibly killing the political figure. News reporters state that the man accused by Blomkvist was found the morning after he was exposed dead in his bathroom. It is believed that he committed suicide, since no real evidence is shown. Based on Lisbeth's violent past it is indicated that she killed Hans-Eik. The last pages sketch an image of Lisbeth in a blond wig disguised and hiding her identity. Which is also an underlying theme in the novel. The original title Men Who Hate Women, suites the story and the themes within it. What I'm getting at is the final pages are talking about Lisbeth hiding her self. Dressed differently and wearing a wig, thus covering up who she really is.

Lisbeth Gets Even for Mikael

Lisbeth uses her genius skills in computer hacking to reveal the true story about Hans-Erik Wennerstrom. She delivered the documents to Mikael. With only a month and half left in Jail, Mikael wrote the story, the real story on Hans-Erik Wennerstrom and his drug and illegal trafficking and gross slander. When Lisbeth was first asked to do a background check on Blomkvist for Milton security she had a hunch that something was weird about the case. Thus, the information that the tech-savvy side-kick had found ultimately saved Mikael, released him from jail and allowed him to expose the truth on Wennerstrom.

Lisbeth's Visit to Mom

After a roller coaster ride through a murder/missing case, saving Mikael's life and watching the death of Martin take place, Lisbeth went to visit her mother for the first time ever. I think for person to endure that much in a short amount of time causes one to step back and take a deep breath. Lisbeth watched as Martin died just as she watched her own father die. It was a flashback for her that had drawn her to seek her mother's words. And I think that's what Lisbeth did, she realized how precious life is. Between Mikael's near death experience the pain that Harriet's family has for her missing, and the death of Martin really set in for her. Lisbeth's mother had not seen her in some time. She asked if she had children or a man. Lisbeth told her that there was a man, referring to Mikael since she had fallen for the journalist. Her mother apologizes and admits the man she had chosen as a husband and father to Lisbeth was the wrong choice and it is her fault. Lisbeth's mother said "it is this reason that you hurt Lisbeth".

Death of Gottfried

As Harriet is rejoined with her Uncle at his estate, she starts to explain all the secrets she has known for all these years as Henrik has had no knowledge of. Harriet expresses to her uncle how her father treated her. She was so afraid of him and the abuse he caused her. The first time she was raped was at the young age of sixteen. The day her father died was when Gottfried was drunk as usual exploiting bible verses and shouting out all the women he has killed. Harriet was chased to the lake, she got into the boat as if she were to leave shore, yet her father went after her and fell into the water. She pushed him down into the water drowning him with the oar. She loved her father, but she knew she couldn't go on living this way, being tortured by her father and brother Martin. She had planned to tell her family members her father was drunk and had fallen and drowned to his death. The murder of her father was seen as Gottfriend falling on accident. Harriet wanted to keep the murder a secret. But unfortunately her brother Martin witnessed Harriet's actions and she knew that he would leak the truth or punish her the way her father had. Harriet told her uncle that Martin was far worse to her than her father was, so as soon as Martin returned from boarding school she knew she had to leave.

Finding Harriet

When Lisbeth gave Mikael the final clue to where Harriet was, Blomkvist traveled to find Harriet. She was found in Australia in a small village and stunned to know anyone ws aware of her existence. After convincing Harriet to come home and see her uncle before he passes, Harriet met with her Uncle after thirty plus years of not having any answers. Harriet explained to her Uncle her reasons for leaving; the death of her father, her brother and the future she faced if she stayed. She also explained that it was her sending those pressed floral pictures every year. She thought the gesture would symbolize to him that she was still out there and thinking of him. Henrik was relieved and thankful to have his niece back with him in his final days.

Martin Vanger's Death

When chaos breaks loose and Mikael finds himself about to die and in the hands of Martin Vanger, Lisbeth comes to the rescue. As Martin takes off to escape, I found it a metaphor as well. Here is a scene where he is driving away from what he has done, his past, his problems, and Lisbeth is following him. The metaphor I saw was that no matter where you go to your past will always find you and follow where you go. As Martin crashes off the bridge and Lisbeth stands to watch I found this symbolic. As Lisbeth was watching the death of a terrible man I feel she felt empowered by all the men that were bad in the world, she got to watch one of them suffer. And this wasn't her doing, he crashed all on his own and she stood to watch and let him have his day. It was hard for her, but she knew if she helped him out of the car she would regret letting a man such as this live. His death brought peace to the family after they were confronted with the news from Mikael. Since Martin wasn't suspecting that his death would be near he leaked key information to Mikael right before he planned on killing Blomkvist. This lead to the final lead and the finding of Harriet.

Lisbeth falling for Blomkvist

Before working together, Lisbeth is intrigued by Mikael from the start. As she hacks into his computer and stalks his work, she is curious on what this man is up to. After sending him a message and reaching out to him, he is instantly captivated by her talent. Like a night in shining armor, he comes to meet her and asks for her help. I'm not sure if Lisbeth took the job because she wanted the money, to get to know Mikeal better, or Salander was charmed by Mikael himself. As their relationship as crime partners progressed, Salander started to fall for Blomkvist. Mikael was known to be a ladies man and obtain many lovers, but living in close quarters with one another, it was hard for Lisbeth to not look at Blomkvist in a sexual way. I also question Salander's past, was she longing for a man that treated her fair and like an actual human being? Was it her abusive past that had her longing for any sort of affection? Her feelings are even evident when a Vanger family member sourly states at a family meeting "why did you bring that slut girlfriend of yours here!?". Salander's seductive apparel, tattoos and piercings do give her a wild image I would say.

Larsson's Obsessions

This is Larsson's first book published, so there isn't other material to compare or contrast this work with. This piece of literature is raunchy, and disgusting. Larsoon uses such sickening events matched with pathetic characters that luxuriate on sex, women, and murder. The novel is dark and wrongfully set in a place where women being an equal being does not exist. I wonder why Larsson worte such a story filled with not just mystery and thriller genre stamped to it, but with more depth. There are twists and turns that I didn't see coming and characters conveying depressing pasts which reflect their present life. The character the book is named after, Lisbeth Salander is maybe the darkest of all the characters. Not only her image that Stieg designed, but her past, her battles faced day in and out. Although Blomkvist is seen as a typical journalist he carries a failed marriage, a shattered relationship with his daughter, and a lover whom is a co-worker. Not to mention Lisbeth falls for Mikael, an odd pair if you ask me. Overall, Larsson illustrates cruelty and havoc in the novel causing unforgettable scenes.

Anita and the Mistaken Identity

During Blomkvist's investigation he soon thinks that he may have a suspect. Just when a lead pops up, he finds out that a picture he had been starring at for days of Harriet was in fact Anita, Harriet's cousin. The two girls were very close and spent a lot of time together. Anita does in fact happen to be the girl in the photograph standing by the window. This throws off Mikael and Salander's investigation since they were going off the necklace in the picture that she was wearing. Cecilia was a suspect for an instant after Blomkvist realized she was wearing the necklace that Harriet (or who he thought was Harriet) had on in the picture. After accusing Cecilia of wearing Harriet's necklace, Mikael finds out that it was Anita's necklace and in fact Anita in the picture standing in the window. After ruling out many false leads such as this one, the two were able to make progress in the case and bringing all the leads to Henrick making him so happy that they were closer to finding out were his dear niece has gone.

Martin Vanger

An interesting twist on the story is the presence of Martin Vanger. At first, the Swedish man seems kind, and inviting as Blomkvist settles on the island. As Blomkvist and Salander get closer to finding out what has happened to Harriet, Blomkvist encounters a startling wake up call. As he is running in the woods a hunter "mistakes him" for an animal and opens fire. What we really come to find out is Martin Vanger was the one shooting and he wasn't hunting for animals. He was taking a shot at the one man that could reveal Martin's past. Martin was taught first hand from his father, Gottfried how to treat women. Between torment, rape, and murder, Martin learned it all. He tortured many women throughout his life and enjoyed his guilty pleasure. Martin lived his secretive life quietly in a basement equipped with torture cages and tools to cause anyone to face to death. Although Harriet was the only one that knew about her father and her brother's taunting actions, that was enough to have her run away for good.

Lisbeth's Revenge

After enduring an immense amount of pain Lisebth picked herself back up by getting a tattoo and getting revenge on Nils. As Lisbeth entered Nil's apartment for the third time she was prepared this time for what she may encounter again. As she humiliated him by stripping his clothes off and tying Nils up she taunted him until she did something that could not be undone. Lisbeth had purchased a tattoo gun and scripted the words I am a racist pig on his stomach. These scenes prevail intense anger, pain and a bittersweet taste left in the readers' mouth. I was proud of Lisbeth, seeing as I am a woman. I felt bad for this mysterious girl, she experiences so much pain, and for what? Why I wonder does Larsson instill so much into Salander's life.

Lisbeth's Unforgettable Foster Parent

Nils Bjurman, a corrupt man, a crooked lawyer and worse than that he was Lisbeth's Guardian. At their first encounter Nils consistently asks Lisbeth inappropriate questions, which Slander quickly realizes her new foster parent is a pervert. Nils's problems were far worse than just a pervert. He forced Lisbeth to perform sexual actions on him in bribery of her money. Thus, having Larsson creating one of the most stomach aching scenes I've read in a while. The authority placed over Lisbeth is considerably depressing. The shame and anger I felt for Lisbeth after reading this passage was vast. Just when I thought the worst was over, an even more dreadful scene followed. The second time Lisbeth visited Nils she needed more money, but Bjurman had something else in mind. The horrific scene of Lisbeth helpless and tied up as she was beaten and raped made me cringe. The pain Salander had endured had to have been tremendous, but as her thoughts were revealed she was in a daze. Not shocked by the events, she was more taking the event in, like it was another day, another year, another hard time in her life.

Compare/Contrast The Big Sleep

Like the novel The Big Sleep, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has a similar plot. Both stories center around a prestigious family in which a missing or murdered person from that family is being investigated. Both investigators in the two stories are not actually affiliated or apart of the police force. As both male protagonist start to interview the family members, they are swayed in by a female family member who is seductive and attempts to alter their mind. For example, Cecilia tries to spend some time with Blomkvist so she is viewed as a friend and not a suspect. Lots of sex, scandal and secrets are themes in both novels. A criminal similarity between the two is the fact that no specific suspect has been named until towards the end of the novel. Both wealthy families face issues such as hate, violence, love, fraud, and secrets. The most prevalent differences would be those of time difference, writing styles, the actual outcomes of each novel, and of course the punky, unforgettable sidekick, Lisbeth Salaner.

Journalism Rules

Since the book has political references and themes as well as Journalism being another theme, I thought I would review the governmental system in Sweden and some rules Journalist work with. Sweden maintains a Monarchy, which is democratic multi-party system. There is approximately thirty to forty parties in parliament. Thus, there isn't any real power. The United Stated politics are very different from this. Journalist are supposed to follow certain rules when composing a story. The Generic rules for journalism are to provide facts, maximize benefits of that person, place or thing, act an an independent, and lastly use reliable sources. Another major rule is to not perform writing in which one is biased towards the topic. Journalist believe a successful story is one that follows this quote: "You have to have the facts to back it up".

Men Who Hate Women

The writer portrays women in a poor light in this novel, considering the title to the very popular book was once titled Men Who Hate Women. There are several occasions where Lisbeth is abused or used as an object of obsession or lust. For example, Lisbeth is bullied and happens to get jumped by a pack of men that seemed to have no respect for Lisbeth and/or women in general. Lisbeth has learned through her years of abuse and violence to fight back. Of course the most obvious scene of hatred towards women was when Lisbeth’s foster parent forces her to perform sexual actions on him and later rapes her. He uses bribery and force to tame Lisbeth and gets what he wants. But in the end Lisbeth once again got her revenge by setting him up and making sure he was taught a lesson. Lisbeth isn’t even treated with respect from the Vanger family and even Harriet's mother Isabella expresses that this whore of a girl does not need to be on their island. She is looked at differently for her appearance and the way she carries herself is very mysterious as well. I seem to believe that Blomkvist is one of the few men in the story that respects Lisbeth.

The Hacker Cont.

Mickael seems to spend time huffing and puffing about Salander's career. He prides himself on his profession and his professionalism within his job, yet he seeps to low levels such as contacting Salander to help him get out of the pickle he is in. He judges Lisbeth for her hacking, and is offended when he finds out she has hacked into his computer finding dirt on his relationship with his colleague, Erika Berger. Mikael tells Lisbeth that journalists are subject to a moral code, which includes not sharing one's personal life with the world when reporting on them. Yet he is contradicting himself throughout the novel, as he has exposed Hans-Erick. I believe Blomkvist cares about his image, and in time of crisis he really gets spooked on what others must think of him, now that his career is on the line. These are some major differences in the Blomkvist-Salander team despite the fact that they do work well together.

The Hacker

Although being a professional hacker has it's benefits, bribery, judgment and secrets could be negative aspects that stand out in a hacker's world. Slander is brilliant when it comes to finding out information on a person or place. She works for a security company by the name of Milton security. Sure she is paid well and has the respect of her boss for her consistency, but her image is judged as one would assume. When Mikael finds himself in the mess of "wrongly accusing" Wennerstrom he hires girl genius Salander to find out the real lowdown on this political scandal. An uncommon feature that the two protagonists share is self-image awareness. Blomkvist rants and raves about his journalistic style and skills, bragging about his profession while putting colleagues down, a real ego boost. Lisbeth could care less what people think of her and she prides herself on her individuality. She is proud to be a hacker and lets others know. Blomkvist is frazzled when his loud article about Hans-Erik Wennerstrom is revealed to be false information and hires Salander to sort out the truth from the lies.

Partners in Crime

Salander and Blomkvist have been called today's Watson and Holmes. How could Doyle have solved the mystery without his sidekick? The perfect combination: A disturbed young lady whom has traded her troubles in life for some pretty sufficient computer hacking skills and a investigative journalist who is seeking for more answers in life. This pair work as a team and feed off each other to learn of more leads in the case. As equal participants, Salander and Blomkvist pick up each other's thoughts in solving the case of Harriet Vanger. After learning of the twisted Vanger family secrets, Lisbeth, oddly is the one to rescue Mickael from a near death happening. Larsson excludes one aspect from their relationship, and that is love. Stieg isn't interested in bringing these two characters together in that fashion, although Lisebeth falls for Blomkvist it could be a form of lust. His approach to their friendship is to focus on their work. There are times where intimate scenes arise, where Lisbeth and Mikael becomes closer, but only in centimeters. Thus, Salander does not give anything away about herself to Mikael even when he does seek for details of whom she really is.

Secrets

In the novel a major theme is secrecy. Lisbeth herself is one big secret. Her past is revealed to an extent, readers get a sense of the pain that she has gone through. Salander has built concrete walls to avoid any persons entering into her world. Blomkvist acknowledges her damages, but is aware that she won't repeat what her past holds, even though it is obvious that her past screams out through her personality, style, and attitude. The Secrets that are held within the Vanger family are monumental. Blomkvist comes face to face with this concept later in the novel. By finding out the hard way of the Vanger secrets, Mikael seeks rescue from Lisbeth, a coincidental occurrence since she has tried to seek rescue throughout her life. Harriet herself is probably the largest secret in the novel. Harriet's uncle has not been able to get over her disappearance for the thirty years. At the end of the novel it is revealed that Harriet is alive and ran away to avoid her brother Martin. Which leads to another secret, Martin Vanger, whom is a violent killer and rapist. The last secret I will conclude with is the secrets of Blomkvist's investigation on Hans-Erik Wennerstrom. As Blomkvist tries to exploit Hans-Erik he is set up and his articles back fire on him. But as the novel comes to the end, we find out that he, Hans-Erik is indeed guilty and is brought to justice.

Blomkvist the Detective

At first Blomkvist was confused as to why Henrik Vanger hired him, a journalist to investigate the death of his beloved niece, Harriet Vanger. Mr. Vanger told Blomkvist that he had done research on him and was pleased with the time of investigative journalist Blomkvist was. It became clear that just like the other detectives that had gotten involved in the case in past, Blomkvist quickly became intrigued with the Vanger family and the missing case of Harriet Vanger. After sorting out the family members, Mikael finds a photograph that turns the investigation into a direction that has not yet been discovered. Henrik is impressed with Mikael's progress in the case and can't believe it every time Blomkvist comes to him with more leads on finding Harriet. Although Blomkvist is talented at cracking into this mystery, Salander is the real key to helping Mikael. Considering her profession is investigating, Lisbeth is a sidekick to Blomkivt's journey.

Larsson vs. Blomkvist

Larsson develops Mikael Blomkvist's character very similar after his own life. Other authors have practiced this same method as well. Larsson was a journalist for a magazine called Expo which criticized extreme rightist within the Swedish Government. Like Larsson, Blomkvist is also a journalist exposing major corporations or business men for fraud or some kind of cheating. The Swedes have come to have divided opinions on Blomkvist. It is prevalent in Larsson's novel that his own voice and opinions seep through Mikeal Blomkvist's character. Like Blomkvist, Stieg Larsson enjoyed exploiting persons that cheated the law, even though he was haunted and often threatened for his job. Another conflict in the novel aside from the investigation of Harriet Vanger, is the controversy over a political business head that has committed gross slander along with illegal trafficking. Blomkvist is trying to prove the man is guilty. Blomkvist is set up and later sent to jail for his writings. Larsson passes his knowledge and life style into the hands of Mikael Blomkvist in the novel making them very parallel.

The Girl with the Strongest Heart

Lisbeth Salander; with a past as dark as night, haunting men that threaten and abuse her, several tattoos in painful places, a girl like this can't be real. How is it that Lisbeth is this physically and mentally strong? I believe Salander is mentally stronger than her frail body makes her appear. If she can overcome and continue to fight through life, she has courage and far more strength than a man. I was questioning Larsson as I read the description of Salander's appearance. I thought at first why does she dress this way? The title of the novel was originally Men Who Hate Women. Which is blatantly placing women into a category of zero respect, consideration, or recognition. Where as the title that Larsson has chosen gives Salander more power and embraces her strength. It is interesting that the author didn't name the book after Harriet, the main character, or the focus in the book. Instead he calls attention to the bisexual tattooed and pierced biker. Lisbeth is a very interesting girl. She is a computer genius who carries around a quiet personality and a bit of a chip on her shoulder. Men have been proven to not be good company to her. When knocked down, this tough Gothic-dressed competitor gets up and makes her self capable of anything.

Blomkvist & Relationships

Mikael Blomkvist doesn't seem human at times or poses any sort of human qualities. In my opinion, he lacks communication and relationship skills. For example, he holds a failed marriage, a struggling relationship with his daughter, and on again off again lover Erika Berger. He even carries an odd relationship with Lisbeth Salander in the novel. They are a curious pair and Larsson delicately places emphasis on their partnership and interactions. I'm not even sure how he really feels about the relationships or lack of relationships he withholds with the female characters. Although Mikael is so passionate about his work as a journalist, he does not bind his relations as closely. Are these characteristics of a Swedish man? Is Larsson sending the message that most Swedish men do not carry themselves as gentlemen and seek no use for women except as quick fulfillment?

NY Times Review 2008

In 2008 Alex Berenson from the New York Times wrote a book review on the Larsson's crime novel. Here is the link to the article which includes a brief summary and the writer's take on Larsson's work.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/books/review/Berenson-t.html

Expo Magazine

Expo Magazine, where Larsson worked as a journalist is a run on a non-profit basis and was founded in 1995. The magazine represents and researches freedom of speech against racism, right-wing extremist, etc. This link is the home page to the Expo Magazine that is based out of Sweden.

http://expo.se/about-expo.html

Background of Stieg Larsson

This article explains some of the mysteries of Stieg's life and his family fighting for his legacy. The story discusses his success and the success of this book The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1263155/The-TRUE-mystery-story-girl-With-The-Dragon-Tattoo.html

Who Will Play the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

As Hollywood prepares for the making of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the choice of who will play the leading lady is still up in the air. This link to marieclaire.co.uk shows a short article with the two ladies that the production company are looking at. At the bottom is a small blog in response to whom should play Lisbeth Salander.

http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/news/celebrity/449481/will-kristen-or-carey-be-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo.html

The Official Movie Trailer

Here is the link for the official movie trailer for the movie made of the novel. Although the movie first came out in the UK and filmed in another language it is said to be coming to the U.S. soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlF-hk3IJQE

Feminst of Misogynst?

The F-Word Blog analyzes the criminal and sexual beings and events that take place in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I enjoyed the article and found it helpful in that it broke down a few minor details from the thriller.


http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2009/09/larrson_review

Feminst or not?

This link is to a blog by guardian.co.uk. The Blog is titled The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Feminist or Not? It discusses the book's message on gender and feminism. Many readers' opinions are thrown in and supported by their impression's on Larsson's piece.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/mar/15/girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo