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 meets Everett Yow, the executor of Raspail's will, in Baltimore. Yow promises to show Starling Raspail's car, which has been in storage, as long as she reports anything she finds back to him. Together, Claire and Everett drive to where Raspail's car has sat since his death. They enter the well-guarded storage facility and make their way to Raspail's storage unit. Yow looks at the seal of the lock on Raspail's storage unit and shows Starling that no one has opened it in five years.
In this section, Harris emphasizes that no one has touched Raspail’s car since his death. As such, whatever Starling finds in it will be old evidence. If that evidence relates to the Buffalo Bill case, Buffalo Bill must have been active for much longer than the FBI realizes. Of course, alternatively, Lecter could purposely be leading Starling to a dead end.
Themes
It takes some effort, but Starling eventually manages to open the lock. Yow sits back and lets her do the work, which she appreciates. However, even with the lock off, the door does not open. Yow suggests coming back at a later time when they have more help. However, Starling is determined to get the door open. She uses a bumper jack to pry open the door, which makes an awful squealing noise as it opens. Eventually, Starling jacks the door up enough that she can squeeze under it.
Starling is used to men assuming she cannot do simple, “manly” tasks by herself, which is why she appreciates Yow’s willingness to let her work. Additionally, the stickiness of the door reinforces the idea that it has been a long time since anyone entered Raspail’s storage unit. Still, Starling is eager to see what is inside.
Themes
Yow looks under the door and notes that it smells like mice. Starling agrees—she can hear the mice rummaging around in the unit. Starling asks Yow to wait outside the door and call the police in case the door comes down while she is in the unit. Yow is surprised Starling is willing to go in on her own but promises to do as she requests. Starling lays on the ground and carefully enters the storage unit. As she pushes herself in, she finds she is under the car. Eventually, she stands and shines her light around the unit, which is full of boxes and spiders. Some rats scurry across a piano.
Here, Harris sharply contrasts how Yow and Starling react to the same circumstances. Yow is immediately afraid and wants to call the authorities. Meanwhile, Starling shows no fear and continues using every tool available to her to enter the storage unit. The unit has a gothic air to it; spiders and rats run rampant, and everything about the setting is ominous.
Themes
Starling shines her light in the car, but there isn't much she can see. However, it looks like a person is sitting in the car. Starling is nervous, but she does her best to stay calm. She does not want to cause a scene that would annoy everyone and make her look like a scared fool. Slowly, she moves around the boxes in the room to give herself access to the driver-side door to unlock the car. When Starling opens the car door, she realizes that the "person" she saw is just a dressed-up mannequin. However, the mannequin's head is missing, and there is a cloth-covered object where the head should be.
Even if Starling was a man, she knows causing a scene would reflect poorly on her. Therefore, as a woman, she must be extra careful. She knows that if she causes a scene, someone high up at the FBI could take her out of the field for good. Starling manages to calm herself, demonstrating an impressive level of self-control effectively. As she looks in the car, it seems more likely that Lecter led her somewhere useful after all.
Themes
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Starling crawls into the backseat, trying not to think too hard about what she is doing. Then, she uncovers the item with the cloth over it and sees a head in a jar. She can tell the head has been in the jar for years because it has experienced significant decay. As she examines the head, Starling realizes she is pleased with herself, though she is uncomfortable that her pleasure comes from such a disturbing place. Starling frisks the mannequin to see if there is anything to identify the body. However, she only finds a wooden dildo shoved into its crotch area. Then, she looks back at the head. Starling thinks that she can look at anything at long as it means doing something good for the world.
If the head belongs to one of Buffalo Bill’s victims, he has been killing for at least five years—and probably longer. However, at this point, it is impossible to know. Lecter definitely led Starling to a crime scene, but whose crime scene is it? Previously, Starling mentioned that Buffalo Bill skinned his victims; there was no mention of him beheading them. Additionally, the inclusion of the wooden dildo suggests that the crime was sexual in nature. However, at this point, Starling cannot know anything for sure.
Themes
Starling reports her discovery to the proper authorities. When she exits the storage unit, a news crew led by a woman named Jonetta Johnson has already arrived. Starling warns the crew to stay away from the unit because it is a crime scene. Jonetta tries to distract Starling while her men sneak into the unit. However, Starling catches them while they are halfway under the door and lowers the jack to crush them so they cannot move. Starling knows she will look bad on television and tries to calm herself.
The media plays a small but important part in the novel. They sensationalize the Buffalo Bill case and any other case they think their viewers will find titillating. Some media members are more responsible than others, with Jonetta Johnson’s crew falling on the not-so-responsible side of that equation.
Themes
