It’s not every day that a stone cold feminist shows up in literature. With Lisbeth Salander (aka The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest), Swedish author Stieg Larsson somehow managed to do just that with the book originally titled Men Who Hate Women. The best part? He admittedly based this character on his visualization of a grown up Pippi Longstocking.
I have this aversion to jumping on the literary bandwagon. From John Grisham’s The Firm to J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books to (gulp) the Twilight series (yes, I read the damn things long before the great dildo debacle), I mutter a lot about fads and refuse to read popular books on some general principle I don’t fully understand myself.
Anyway, I did it yet again with Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy … and I was completely wrong. Except for the ending, I found these books to be outstanding works of literature. If you haven’t read them, you really should. And just so you know, I’m not going to give away any sort of big surprise in this post — if anything, think of it as an effort to further pique your interest as we examine Salander’s feminism.
Considering my great affinity for lists (and I hope you’re catching the sarcasm here), it seemed like a great opportunity to pay it forward a bit. Therefore, I am happy to present you with my first list.
10 Reasons Why Lisbeth Salander is a Feminist
1. She does not buy into the stereotype.
Although Salander is described throughout the series as tiny (her height is given numerous times as under five feet), “anorexic-looking,” and even “doll-like,” she possesses great physical strength that, combined with an incredibly quick mind, make her a worthy adversary for anyone. Even if she didn’t take pains to make her appearance as gender-neutral as possible, her affinity for Billy’s Pan Pizza and Marlboro Lights do balance out her feminine side a bit.
2. She is friends with a variety of people instead of pigeonholing a group that fits with her exterior appearance.
Mikhail Blomkvist, an honest journalist (referred to by Salander herself as a “practical pig”). Mimmi Wu, a very open lesbian college student. Dragan Armansky, the director of a prestigious security company. “Plague,” a 350 pound recluse …
… computer hacker. Annika Giannini, a woman lawyer specializing in feminism cases. Paulo Roberto, a retired boxer who’s a national figure. What do they have in common? They have Lisbeth Salander’s confidence … and that’s saying a lot.
3. She watches out for the little guy (or girl).
Although prickly, moody, and sometimes out and out rude, Salander does everything in her power to help those that life has dealt a rough hand to. Whether it’s running out in the middle of a tornado to save an acquaintance whose home is a wooden beach shack, setting up a slush fund to help an old friend recover from a stroke, or hiring a former alcoholic (and closeted homosexual) as her financial lawyer, she is characterized by her willingness to extend a hand to those in need.
4. She has ingenious means of getting revenge on people that screw her over.
Don’t fuck with Salander. If you piss her off, she’ll dig up enough dirt to ruin your career, marriage, and essentially your life. As payback for horrible exploitation at the hands of a man, she tattooed his stomach with: “I AM A SADISTIC PIG, A PERVERT, AND A RAPIST.” Hey, it beats the Rape-Axe. She’s also dangerous with Mace, guns, and golf clubs … but most deadly of all with her Mac.
5. She is committed to improving the lives of women.
Well, women she cares about, anyway. She allows an old friend to live in her old apartment for the price of $1 (and collecting the mail), and her rage against enemies is fueled by their treatment of women. She memorably stands up for a total stranger whose husband is about to murder her under cover of a hurricane. It’s not unusual for her to add an extra ball-tapping or foot-shooting to drive that point home, and she is hell with an ax.
6.She is comfortable with her sexuality.
Salander is bisexual, with perhaps her healthiest and most committed relationship being an intense “friends with benefits” with a woman. Her core leanings tend to be toward men, though, as evidenced by her turning to essentially anonymous men for short term “itch-scratching” as the need arises. She is also deeply troubled by her intense feelings for a male lover, so she completely shuts him out of her life. This woman knows herself inside and out — it’s pretty wild.
7. She’s devoted to her mother.
A victim of domestic abuse, Salander’s mother lived in a nursing home from the time of “All the Evil” when her brain was damaged irreparably by a beating until her death. During those times, Salander visited her twice a year, painful as it was. Following her mother’s death, Salander received a request from the nursing home staff to come pick up a box with her mother’s personal items in it. Salander retrieves the box … and puts it into a closet without opening it, such is her need to keep her mother firmly in her heart rather than digging up old dirt.
8. She is well-traveled.
After acquiring a fortune through not-exactly-legal means, Salander leaves her native Sweden to travel extensively, always with an ulterior motive. Whether it’s Guyana, Paris, or anywhere in between, Salander is able to both fit into her surroundings and leave her own indelible mark anywhere she goes. Thanks to some alternate identities set up through her connections in the internet underground, Salander is free to come and go as she pleases even though she is technically under a guardianship for being mentally retarded (I’m telling you, read the book!).
9. She is comfortable with her body.
Well, eventually. At first a pierced, tattooed, stereotypical “goth,” Salander matures through the series into a woman who knows what will make herself feel better and does it. Each of her tattoos symbolizes a tribulation she has overcome and, even though she ends up getting cosmetic surgery in the form of breast implants, it is to please only herself. Salander is not thrilled by her petite and feminine exterior, but she works with it until she is happy with who she is … on the outside, at least.
10. She is ruthless, even vengeful, but never cruel.
Although she has both the ability and the capacity to kill, Salander doesn’t. She twice faces a giant who can literally feel no pain due to a genetic condition, and she chooses instead to incapacitate him and let someone else take care of the killing. She wins a standoff with two hardened bikers who wish to do her harm but again chooses to hurt them just enough where she can escape. Salander’s life has necessitated that she be prepared to stand up for herself; however, she is a strong enough woman to keep evil in check without allowing herself to cross an inner moral line.
Lisbeth Salander is both victim and victor, both warden and prisoner, both feminine and masculine, both generous and selfish. Throughout events that would bring most human beings to their knees howling in madness, Salander calls on an inner core of iron that proves her as both a feminist and perhaps the most intriguing character to appear in literature in decades.
Read. The books.
Damnit!
Well? Did she ever open the box?
I don’t like you anymore :( I have sooooo many books sitting to here, waiting to be read! I hope that you’re happy. I just ordered all 3 books at overstock. Do this again and I may have to cuss at you.
You are going to LOVE them :-)
You’re evading the issue! Did she open the box?
Remember – I am a known gratuitous cusser.
I’m halfway through the third book right now I was so excited when I saw it was out, I’ve absolutely loved these books.
“I have this aversion to jumping on the literary bandwagon. From John Grisham’s The Firm to J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books to (gulp) the Twilight series (yes, I read the damn things long before the great dildo debacle), I mutter a lot about fads and refuse to read popular books on some general principle I don’t fully understand myself.”
I’m the same way. Although, I haven’t yet given in to John Grisham (I consider him to be a hack writer) or the Twilight series (because I’m sick of all this vampire bullshit everywhere), but I remember the time my friends spent convincing me to read only the first HP book, just to give it a shot. Now I own the series (although I despise the movies).
It’s interesting that we were both English majors (I’m assuming, since you are an English teacher) and we have the same sort of, what’s the word…elitism toward books that become hugely popular for no apparent reason.
When I have some funds to purchase books again (someday the loans will be paid off), I plan to read these. I was skeptical at first, but if you read them and enjoyed them, that’s enough of a recommendation for me.
Blurry, let me know what you think when you’ve read them.
Grisham is a beach read – something that you don’t lose any sleep over if you never finish it. He had one or 2 good books, but as a testament to his talent, I simply couldn’t begin to tell you the titles. I do vaguely remember enjoying them.
The Twilight series was entertaining. It isn’t serious literature, but as a catalyst to getting someone to read – it is great. It has turned my 15 year old from a casual reader to an avid one.
I love Harry. My kids love Harry. Books don’t have to be great literature for me to read them, they do have to be such if I am to remember them. Or, colossally bad.
You don’t need funds, go to the public library (if you have one, I have no idea where you are)
Copa honey – tell Aunt Blurry – did she open the box?
Aunt Blurry…consider this my family rebellion. You wish old woman! read the books if you wanna know :)
Copa!
Its going to take 3 or 4 days for them to get here – another 3 or 4 to read them all!
Be nice now :(
Yup, I was an English major. It’s funny, I always tried to avoid that literary elitism, but I seem to have picked it up when I wasn’t paying attention. Life is strange ;-)
Are you people going to make me read all 3 books to find out if she ever opened the box?
I’m on iTunes, buying a bunch of music ’cause I’m all law abiding and stuff, guess what they are promoting?
The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo movie! In Swedish with English subtitles.
I won’t buy it till I read the books. Has anyone seen it?
My murma saw it, she’s also a big fan of the books. She said it was really good…if you’ve never read the books. But with the books in comparison you feel let down by how much is skipped over, so she says read the books or watch the movie but not both.
I’ve only read the first one, and I sort of liked it, but I had a real problem with the graphic sexual assaults in it. It really disturbed me
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I’m in actual mental pain now – look at this :(
I ended up buying a DVD and 2 comforter sets- they are on the way! But the books – what I was there to order in the first place – PENDING???
So, I now will have to wait even longer to read them, but I am left to reflect on what an easy sell I am when I start out buying 3 books and end up with a cartload of stuff.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Paperback)
1 Pending Shipment
The Girl Who Played With Fire (Paperback)
1 Pending Shipment
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet`s Nest (Hardcover)
1 Pending Shipment
You may have an issue with delaying gratification,it was a big problem for me in my youth.
I’ve delayed gratification all of my life.
Now that I’m older, I’m more of a just do it person.
Right damn now :)
Seriously? These seem like reasons she’s cool.
But the only reasons I see that suggest she is a feminist are 1, 5, and 6. Maybe 9. But being a cool person does not make you a feminist, and feminists are not automatically awesome.
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I tried to read the first one and I couldn’t get through the first 2 chapters! It was painfully boring! How did you guys make it through?
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Lisbeth Salander is definitely NOT a feminist icon.
Reasons why:
The boob job
She falls in love with Blomkvist and treats him like shit for it
She’s also jealous of Berger
She believes in violence (and she can be cruel)
She’s superficial in a lot of her personal relationships (Plague, for example, because he smells or something)
She enjoys revenge
She sleeps with married men (not very sisterly)
She sleeps with teenagers which is all very well, but then just ups and leaves with no warning or follow up (poor kid must have been devastated)
The insistence is constantly on how she looks like a teenager or a child, so NOT a grown woman anyway
I wouldn’t be the first in suggesting that the character of Salander panders more to pseudo-feminist(and even paedo) male fantasies than anything else (Lara Croft without the boobs. Oh, wait a minute…).
I won’t go into the rest of the characters’ inconsistencies, or the farfetched plots adn boring dialogues, but suffice to say that if you read more than the first book of this trilogy you are wasting your time.
Feminazism stinks…