Violence as a source of power

Violence is a recurring event throughout The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. This is whether it has to do with Blomkivist being kidnapped or some type of sexual torture as retaliation. The first violent act shown sexually is the scene where Advokat Bjurman rapes Salander. In this scene she enters the room feeling like she knows something is bound to happen but she does not feel that it will enter these extremes. As she enters the room she feels as if she has the power but is strongly mistaken when she realizes the consequences of entering alone. Bjurman leaves Salandar with scars that she can never recover from both physically as well as emotionally. He feels a sense of power over her in this state, until she comes up with a plan. In this plan she uses a weapon, a tazer, to gain control of the situation, leaving marks on his body. Then Salander continues to carve into his body using a needle. Throughout this book, violence is used as a source of power. It gives each of these characters a sense of leadership and it is a constant battle of who is in charge.

 

Another situation where violence is used as a control of power is during the series of murders committed by Martin Vanger. During these murders, Martin tortures and kills his victims in order to gain a sense of pleasure. He picks his victims based off who he thinks will not be recognized as missing, the victims of society. He feels control of his victims and even says he “feels like god” by having their life in his hands. He gets to control if they live or die and he craves this power over society. Martin is the definition of a sadist. He is the head of a company yet continuously is in desperate need of power.

 

The Vanger family also shows a craving for control by the fact of selling distributions of the company and wanting to gain the biggest portion. When Henrick Vanger retires he no longer focuses on his company that gave him so much power but focuses on the disappearance of Harriet. This is the first time that anyone in the Vanger family is willing to give up power for someone else in the family. He then passes his share of the family wealth down to Martin to take over.

 

Cecilla’s husband abuses her, showing that in this book, men are considered superior to women. Also men are the main abusers and women are not treated with respect. Blomkvist throughout the book can choose his women at his call. When meeting Cecilla, she initiates the relationship and starts off in power, but soon falls for him letting down her wall that was up. This gives Blomkvist power over her, which she does not like because of her past abuses. This puts her at a sense of vulnerability and unstableness.

 

The role of violence and power in this book are interchangeable. While one person has all of the power, they can lose it at the blink of the eye. Not only has violence become a common trend in the book, but it shows an example of how there is no peace in their society. Everyone is against each other rather than trusting and working together. The idea of power consumes all of the characters.