Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Silence of the Lambs, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Sexism and Law Enforcement
The Nature of Evil
Class and Shame
Manipulation
Summary
Analysis
Starling arrives at the Smithsonian, where a guard is waiting for her. At this point, it is late at night, so the museum is closed. The guard leads her to the entomology department. Inside, two men named Pilcher and Roden are playing a game of chess. Next to them, a beetle walks back and forth alongside the chessboard. Whenever Pilcher or Roden make a move, they turn the beetle around. Starling realizes they are using the beetle as a timer and says so out loud. Roden responds snidely while still engrossed in the game.
Throughout her work on the Buffalo Bill case, Starling travels to many different places and meets many different people. However, nearly all of her travels result in interactions with men. With the exception of her run-in with the news crew, the only women Starling interacts with are Buffalo Bill’s victims and their friends and family.
Themes
Starling tells Pilcher and Roden that she has come on behalf of the FBI to identify a bug. Pilcher stands up and formally introduces himself and Roden. Starling hands Pilcher the specimen and begins asking her questions about it. Starling quickly realizes no one has told Pilcher or Roden anything about the case. Starling makes Pilcher and Roden promise not to spill anything to the public about what she is about to tell them. So far, the media does not know anything about the cocoon, and the FBI wants to keep it that way so they can sniff out false confessions. In response, Pilcher and Roden promise not to say anything.
At first, Pilcher and Roden do not take Starling’s presence seriously, probably because they do not realize she is FBI. They have a set idea of what an FBI agent looks like in their mind, and Starling is not what they pictured. However, once Starling identifies herself, they become respectful and more professional. Starling takes precautions with them because she knows if the media gets ahold of any information regarding the Buffalo Bill case, they will only make her job harder and put more lives in danger.
Themes
Starling informs Pilcher and Roden that she found the cocoon in the back of a murder victim’s throat. Although she says nothing about Buffalo Bill, they immediately know it was him because they heard about the body found in West Virginia. Starling explains that she wants to know everything she possibly can about the specimen to help narrow down suspects.
Whether Starling likes it or not, the media continues to be involved in the Buffalo Bill case. The case has swept the nation, so much so that two men who spend their time playing chess with beetles are already up on the latest news.
Themes
Pilcher and Roden examine the outside of the specimen and cross-reference it with an entomologist manual. They narrow it down to the family Lepidoptera, which includes over a hundred thousand butterflies and moths. Then, Pilcher opens the cocoon and describes what he sees to Roden. Roden does more cross-referencing and eventually narrows it down to Erebus odora, the Black Witch Moth.
Although they like to joke around, Pilcher and Roden are intelligent men who clearly have worked together for a long time and know what they are doing. The name “Black Witch Moth” is ominous in nature, though it is still unclear whether it will help Starling find Buffalo Bill.
Themes
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Pilcher and Roden tell Starling that someone most likely raised the specimen in their home. Although raising the specimen would be easy enough, it is something typically only done by entomologists and hobbyists. Roden offers to give Starling access to the subscriber lists of various entomological publications she can use for cross-referencing.
Here, Pilcher and Roden give Starling solid information that could lead her directly to Buffalo Bill. Her discovery of the cocoon is the first significant break in the case because it will help the FBI significantly narrow its search parameters.
Themes
After Starling has what she needs, Pilcher offers to show her out of the museum. While in an elevator, Pilcher tells Starling about several species of moths that feed on the tears of land mammals. He also informs her of the old definition of moth: “anything that gradually, silently eats, consumes, or wastes any other thing.” Before leaving Starling, Pilcher asks her out on a date. Starling politely declines but promises to take Pilcher and Roden out for a celebratory dinner once the case is over.
The old definition of “moth” maps on directly to Buffalo Bill’s actions. He destroys human flesh to satisfy his desires. The mention of consumption also brings Lecter to mind because he is a cannibal. Additionally, unlike the other men Starling meets while working the case, Pilcher makes her gender a factor only after they communicate professionally. One could argue his conduct is still inappropriate, but it is undoubtedly an improvement over someone like Chilton.
Themes
Back at Quantico, Starling prepares her notes and writes to Crawford about cross-referencing the FBI’s criminal database with the entomology publications. Additionally, she asks for another visit with Lecter. She wants to know how Lecter knew Buffalo Bill would start scalping his victims. As her day finally comes to an end, Starling thinks about how she is hunting “a thing that lives on tears.”
Starling feels she is getting closer to Buffalo Bill, and she thinks Lecter can help seal the deal. Here, she makes the same connection Pilcher implies in the previous section; that is, Buffalo Bill is a monster that lives on the despair of other human beings. After the day's events, Starling is more motivated than ever to catch him.
Themes
