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
In his home, Crawford listens as Bella’s breaths become shorter and shorter. He stays by her side, holding her hand until, eventually, her heart stops beating. After she is dead, Crawford takes Bella in his arms and rocks her back and forth, telling her how much he loves her. He spends the rest of the night talking to her and reflecting on their relationship. At this point, he cannot bring himself to leave the room, so he simply cradles her while looking out at the night sky.
This moment completes the novel’s downward spiral. At this point, all of the characters are as low as they have been. Crawford knew Bella’s death was inevitable, but he couldn’t know that it would coincide with so many other terrible events. At the moment, Crawford is too overwhelmed to think about anything but Bella. It is one of the rare tender moments in the novel.
Themes
