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
Gumb sits in his home, watching his prized tape repeatedly and considering what to do about Precious. He goes down into the basement, picks up a revolver, and puts his night vision goggles on. He decides it would be best to shoot Catherine in her sleep while it is pitch black, so she will not see him coming. However, as he approaches the oubliette, Precious hears him and wakes up Catherine.
Gumb’s night vision goggles dehumanize him whenever he puts them on; he turns into an animalistic predator, eager to seek out his prey. Luckily, for the time being, his prey managed to outsmart him, and the thing he loves the most, Precious, accidently betrayed him.
Themes
Before Gumb can do anything else, his doorbell rings. At first, he ignores it, but when it rings again, he answers it. On the other side of the door is Starling, who has come to ask him questions about Fredrica. At first, Gumb pretends not to know a lot about Fredrica. However, eventually he lets Starling in under the guise that he might have some information for her. Gumb looks around in his desk for something to give Starling, who has identified herself as FBI. As he does so, Starling sees a Death’s-Head Moth land on him. Suddenly, she realizes who she is talking to.
When Gumb’s doorbell rings, the reader’s first assumption is that Crawford’s team is on the other side of the door. However, Harris cleverly manipulated time and space to create a shocking twist: Starling inadvertently walked into the house of the man she’s been chasing. The appearance of the Death’s-Head Moth suggests that violence will soon break out, and perhaps Buffalo Bill will complete his transformation.
Themes
Trying not to panic, Starling contemplates her next move. At the moment, Gumb does not realize that she knows who he is. However, when he turns around, the Death’s-Head Moth flutters to the window, and he sees the truth in Starling’s eyes. Starling orders Gumb to freeze, but he escapes into another room and then runs down into his basement.
Gumb was going to let Starling go; he knows that if he kills an FBI agent, then the jig is up. However, he quickly realizes he has no other choice but to deal with Starling. Although Starling doesn’t know it, Gumb’s basement is where he likes to play with his prey.
Themes
Starling chases Gumb into the basement, where she finds Catherine, still alive in the oubliette. Catherine screams at Starling for help. Starling tries to calm her down so she can focus on apprehending Gumb. Momentarily, Catherine calms down. However, when Catherine realizes that Starling intends to leave her alone to chase after Gumb, she starts screaming again.
Catherine’s screams are reminiscent of the crying lambs from Starling’s dreams. Starling does not want to leave Catherine alone, but she knows it is the only way to make the cries stop for good.
Themes
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Nonetheless, Starling continues navigating her way through the basement. There, she finds a bathroom with a preserved corpse. Before she can think about what to do with it, Gumb turns off the lights in the basement, and Starling gets plunged into utter darkness. Starling does her best to feel along the wall, hoping to find her way to light. Unfortunately, Gumb has his night vision goggles on, so he can see her perfectly wherever she goes.
This passage is the first mention of one of Gumb’s victims that the FBI did not know about. Given the extent of Gumb’s basement, it would not be surprising if it was littered with more corpses. Meanwhile, Starling finds herself in a difficult spot because she does not know where she is and she does not know that Gumb is capable of seeing her in the dark.
Themes
Gumb raises his gun and cocks it. Going on sound alone, Starling fires her weapon in Gumb’s direction, hitting him in the chest. Then, she sinks to the ground until she is certain he is dead. As Gumb dies, a moth lands on him. Eventually, Starling manages to restore light to the basement. After, she calls the local authorities and rescues Precious and Catherine from the oubliette.
Several times throughout the novel, Brigham reminds Starling of her proficiency with a gun. He urges her to trust her instincts when the time is right, which is exactly what she does. Finally, the Buffalo Bill case is over, and Starling emerges as the hero.
Themes
