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
At the Marcus Hotel, Lecter sits in his room and listens to classical music while waiting on room service. While he waits, he writes letters to a number of people, including Chilton, Barney, and Starling. Lecter knows that his fake identity will be ready soon, at which point he plans to escape to Rio de Janeiro. By now, he has undergone multiple surgeries, so he is largely unrecognizable.
Although Gumb never managed to complete his transformation, Lecter did finish his. At this point, he is totally anonymous and can move freely without fearing persecution. How Lecter manages to line up his fake identity is unclear, though given his past, he probably has illicit connections.
Themes
Lecter’s letters vary in mood and tone. The letter to Barney is warm and contains a gift. Meanwhile, the letter to Chilton is a threat meant to frighten him. His letter to Starling is the most intimate. He asks her to update him on her dreams about the lambs. He hopes she will put something in the newspapers so that he will have an answer to his question. He thinks the lamb dreams have stopped but will eventually come back. As Lecter writes his letter, Starling sleeps comfortably beside Pilcher.
Lecter’s comment about the silence of the lambs implies that he believes there will always be evil in the world, no matter how many Buffalo Bills Starling brings to justice. Of course, Harris does not provide Starling’s answer so it is impossible to know how she would respond. However, for the moment, it looks like she has finally found comfort in the arms of Noble Pilcher. Her dreams are untroubled, and the lambs are silent. It is ambiguous whether they will stay that way.
Themes
