Who’s in Control?

Control is one of the most essential and obvious elements of the plot in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Although it appears that the characters are working together to solve the mystery of Harriet Vanger’s disappearance, each person involved is looking for something centered around the case that will benefit them as an individual.

Henrik Vanger, after retiring from being the head of the Vanger Corporation, put his remaining efforts into the mystery of his niece’s disappearance. By first being in charge of the family corporation and then heading the search for Harriet, Henrik Vanger has always been in control of his own life and decisions. When he hires Blomkvist, it is because Vanger recognizes that he needs assistance with the case due to the fact that a new lead had not been uncovered in a few years. Even though he makes the decision to enlist in help, Vanger is still in charge because he is the one who makes the final decision on who is hired and who he trusts. But, when Henrik gets sick and ends up in the hospital, he does lose his control of the situation. He cannot work on the case, cannot speak to Blomkvist, cannot supervise the work that was his for years. Vanger’s interest in the case is the purest and he is merely looking for the answer to his question so he can finally have the peace of mind he lost so many years ago.

Mikael Blomkvist has also always been in control: his job, his affairs, his daily routine, etc. After he is sued for libel, Blomkvist loses one section of aspects he can control because he feels he cannot continue working for Millennium. When Vanger offers him the position to write up the family history and attempt to solve a murder while doing so, Blomkvist takes the position. Yet, Blomkvist did not take the position to be helpful or because he believed he could honestly uncover the murderer, but rather because he wanted to leave town temporarily to avoid bad press along with everything else related to the lawsuit and the job provided him with another place to reside. Additionally, the job involved being paid a large sum of money, which he would not be making while refusing to write for Millennium.

When Salander joins the team of men working on the case, it is her decision to do so. She  initially lost control when Mikael burst into her apartment to discuss her methods of gathering information, but regained control when she decided to work for Mikael and Vanger. When she had finished the piece of research she had been hired to do, she made the choice to continue working on the case because it intrigued her. Simultaneously, it is revealed that Blomkvist intrigues her when she barges into his bedroom and offers to sleep with him. Salander’s character does not like to be taken control of and will, whenever possible, only place herself in positions where she is the one in control. Salander’s reason for taking the case was firstly because it intrigued her and she would be paid for it, but secondly because she took an interest in Blomkvist when she studied him for Frode.

Martin Vanger, although not immediately involved in the case, displays his need for dominance multiple times throughout the book. Along with being the CEO of Vanger Corporation, Martin takes on a position on the Millennium board, affording him power in both businesses, and even through physical violence. Martin rifled through Blomkvist’s cabin, chased him with a rifle, left a destroyed cat on the doorstep, and chained Blomkvist inside the torture chamber he frequently uses to torture women he deems uncared about by society. Even when he is being pursued by Salander in his car, Martin controls the way he dies by driving headfirst into an oncoming car. Martin Vanger’s entire life was centered around being the man in control and exerting that control over as many subjects as possible.

Within The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, each character is constantly pursuing dominance, turning the initial belief in working together in search of an answer into a competition to see who can secure the most control.

No Pain, No Gain.

After her best friend’s murder, her father’s fall from grace and subsequent desertion by her mother, and the rejection from her boyfriend, Veronica Mars is left with significant trust issues, causing her to emotionally distance herself from nearly everyone around her. Without the multiple incidents of abandonment and perception of being a social outcast at Neptune High, Veronica Mars would not have obtained the separation she needed from society to become a serious detective.

Veronica is guarded in her interactions with anyone she meets because of how people have repeatedly wronged her in the past. The fictitious shield she has invented for herself equips her with the necessary skill of not immediately trusting anyone. Being skeptical is a required skill for all detectives because at any point, anyone involved in a case could be lying. By not trusting anyone instantly, Veronica allows herself time to form opinions about a person before she determines whether or not they can achieve the status of friend or ally. This is not only a way to judge whether or not the person will be able to assist her in cases, but it is also a way to protect herself from getting hurt again. If Veronica does not allow someone into her personal life and thoughts, if they leave, she will not feel any pain.

When she first meets Wallace, she is seen cutting him down from the flagpole he was taped to. Wallace interpreted her behavior as the initiation of a friendship rather than mere sympathy for being a fellow social outcast. His interpretation leads him to joining Veronica at lunch. Veronica’s self-protection is clearly displayed in this interaction when she harshly asks him what he is doing at “her” table instead of greeting him like a more “normal” member of society would. She had not intended to spark a relationship between the two that would last after he was freed from the flagpole, but she let him remain seated at her table once she realized that they were both on the same level of the social pyramid, indicating that he could be of use to her. Instead of trusting Wallace from the start, Veronica waited to determine whether or not he could be of assistance to her.

Preceding this moment by a minute or two, Veronica is seen gazing angrily at the table where her old group of friends were sitting. Although in her mind she is reliving the torment of being discarded, being rejected actually helps her. Being an active participant within social groups of her school would limit Veronica’s ability to do detective work because only when she is on the outside looking in can she observe their true behaviors carefully. Being an outcast gives her an objective view of not only her peers but of everyone else she chooses to study. It is much more effective to be disconnected from the situation when needing to carefully pay attention to the details. This moment also displays that because of her dismissal, she goes unnoticed. Although she used to be friends with the people she is glaring at, they do not pay her any attention. By being socially outcasted, Veronica can take her time observing objectively and surreptitiously, therefore allowing her to be a more effective detective.

Equality

In Sir Conan Doyle’s story “A Scandal in Bohemia,” he presents Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler as equals. In the BBC Sherlock adaptation “A Scandal in Belgravia,” this information is portrayed well, especially through the segment leading up to the two interacting for the first time.

In this segment, Sherlock comments about how he needs to dress for battle while agonizing over what to wear to visit Adler. The camera then cuts to Adler, who is also finding difficulty in selecting what to wear. Finally, she decides on her “battle dress.” Both characters invest a good amount of time and thought into their choice of clothing (or in Adler’s case, nudity) and both use the word “battle” to describe the interaction they know will soon be occurring.

When Sherlock and Watson are in the street near Irene Adler’s house, Sherlock tells Holmes to punch him in the face. Finally, Holmes does as he’s told, and it causes Sherlock’s cheek to bleed, creating a red streak. The camera cuts to Adler, inside the house, applying bright red lipstick. Again, this is a blatantly obvious parallel between the two characters. By cutting and editing the scenes in this manner, the audience has no choice but to recognize the similarities between the two.

Furthermore, in terms of wit and intelligence, the BBC version shows Adler looking at pictures of Holmes on her phone as Holmes is holding and viewing photos of Adler. The audience, or reader, in the case of the story itself, is led to believe that Sherlock cannot be outwitted, especially not by an unsuspecting woman. This segment proves that someone does exist who can challenge Holmes at his own game. Both believe they are being inconspicuous, but they both end up with photos of each other. This is especially significant in the case of equality because Adler’s photos are on the internet for all to view, making it simple for Sherlock to ascertain them, but Sherlock did not realize the photos were taken, displayed by his outfit of sheets and unexacting facial expressions in the pictures.

The one part of the story that appeared misrepresented was Adler’s title of “the woman.” In the Sir Conan Doyle story, the nickname was given by Sherlock out of respect and admiration because she was able to challenge and outsmart him. The show presents it as a nickname given to her in the “professional” world, which diminishes its significance entirely. The name was Sherlock’s acknowledgment of their equality and the BBC adaptation did not accurately depict its importance.

Egocentrism

“When he had finished he made and drank a cup of coffee. Then he unlocked the kitchen-window, scarred the edge of its lock a little with his pocket-knife, opened the window–over a fire escape–got his hat and overcoat from the settee in the living-room, and left the apartment as he had come.” (Page 91, 3rd Paragraph)

 

This passage occurs the morning after Brigid O’Shaughnessy stayed with Sam Spade as a result of his deceit. Though she had intended to leave the evening prior, he convinced her it was not safe to travel, tricking her into staying with him. While she slept, Spade removed her apartment key from her pocket and gained access to her home. His plan was to thoroughly search for the falcon while not alerting her to his presence in her home. To ensure she would not place the blame of searching her apartment on him, he took extra precautions to stage her apartment to appear it had been broken into. He opened the window over the fire escape and intentionally scarred the lock. By doing this, he knew Brigid would assume the scarred lock meant forced entry and the fire escape would have been the route the perpetrator had taken, drawing the suspicion away from him.

The underlying message of this passage is that Sam Spade is motivated by egocentrism. It was the main motivating factor that drove Sam Spade to deceive Brigid and go to her apartment with hopes of uncovering the falcon. Once he found out that there were others in search of the falcon, his desire to be the first to locate this highly sought after object increased. If he found it, others would recognize his superior investigative abilities and would be willing to bargain with him for possession of the falcon. He would gain recognition for his expertise. The second way this passage exemplifies Spade’s selfish desires is through his actions with Brigid. At the beginning of the novel, he accepted Brigid’s case both because she acted terribly upset and helpless when she first entered his office and because he found her attractive. He realized that taking her case would place the two of them in closer proximity. Preceding the above excerpt, Brigid had kissed Spade. She then stayed over night with him, having been manipulated to believe Sam cared for her well-being, when in actuality, he persuaded her to stay because he knew that if a kiss had already been initiated, there might be further relations. He also plotted to take her key and investigate further while she slept, having lured her into falsely believing his intentions were to keep her safe. This passage clearly demonstrates that this was false: Sam’s intentions were purely selfish, to gain both the falcon and notoriety and respect.

Quote Analysis

“ (…) Cairo’s face jerked back not far enough: Spade’s right heel on the patent-leathered toes anchored the smaller man in the elbow’s path. The elbow struck him beneath the cheek-bone, staggering him so that he must have fallen had he not been held by Spade’s foot on his foot. Spade’s elbow went on past the astonished dark face and straightened when Spade’s hand struck down at the pistol. Cairo let the pistol go the instant that Spade’s fingers touched it. The pistol was small in Spade’s hand.” (Page 46, First Paragraph)

 

In this paragraph, “Spade” is repeated five times, “Cairo” is repeated twice, “elbow” is repeated three times, and “pistol” is repeated three times. The emphasis is put on Spade primarily because he is the protagonist in the story, but also because the reader is supposed to focus on the actions he is performing. “Cairo” is repeated twice, both occurring in a sentence describing the physical harm being done to him. The word “elbow” is repeated three times. The repetition accentuates that Spade is the character in control. It also speaks to Spade’s masculinity because to “defeat” the other man, he only had to use his elbow. He was not in need of a variety of techniques to knock Cairo out, but instead only needed the basic move of elbowing him. In addition, it only took Spade a few minutes. Finally, the word “pistol” is repeated three times because it is the object Spade is attempting to gain possession of through physical violence.

The first strand consists of “elbow,” “face,” “heel,” “toes,” “cheek-bone,” “foot,” “fingers,” and “hand.” The series of anatomical parts serves to make the fight more descriptive and allow the reader to clearly see which man is in charge. The second strand further emphasizes the dominance Spade possesses in the situation and compares the masculinity of the two men by employing words and phrases such as, “patent-leathered,” “the smaller man,” “must have fallen had he not been held,” “let the pistol go the instant Spade’s fingers touched it,” and “the pistol was small in Spade’s hands.” The combination of Cairo’s physical build, “smaller,” and his shoes, “patent-leathered,” both lead the reader to believe that Cairo is a feminine character. In general, men are larger and stronger and do not put much effort into their choice of footwear. Additionally, the phrase “must have fallen had he not been held” suggests that Joel Cairo cannot even keep himself upright while in a fight, turning the question of where the dominance lies again to Sam Spade. The second last sentence in the excerpt demonstrates that Cairo is unwilling to fight back, which jests at his masculinity. The final sentence describes the pistol as small in Spade’s hands, highlighting Cairo’s femininity once again because “normal” men do not have small hands.

This passage is not as much about the physical incident as it is the gender and sexual stereotypes that occurred when this book was written. Men were supposed to be manly, strong, and able to fight back when needed. Spade displays this stereotype by attacking Cairo to get the pistol. Cairo, on the other hand, is small and womanly, weak, and he proves that he is unable to defend himself, let alone fight back. The evidence in the text is found in the aforementioned second strand. The adjectives utilized to describe Spade were masculine whereas the adjectives applied to Cairo were feminine.

The passage has related to the novel so far by extracting specific information pertaining to stereotypes. It has accentuated the difference between Spade’s and Cairo’s characters and attempts to prove to the reader that Cairo is to be disapproved of, shown by his inability to “act like a man.” This is important because in “Film Noir,” much of the plot is based on gender stereotypes. By showing the audience that Spade is manly, the audience sees that he is able to solve the mystery and complete the case. His character can be trusted because by physically abusing the other man to obtain what he wants, it exhibits that he is capable.