Why does Dr. Hannibal Lecter respect Clarice in "Silence of the Lambs"?
In Silence of the Lambs (1991), the wicked, manipulative Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) seems to have esteem for the naive FBI student Clarice (Jodie Foster).
Evidences:
- At first, Lecter agrees to help Clarice, presumably after one of the inmates threw semen at her, which Lecter considers "unspeakably ugly".
- Later, he forms a personal bond with Clarice, in a scene where he asks her of her uncle's ranch, revealing that Clarice only desires "the silence of the lambs". The scene ends with Lecter saying "Brave Clarice. You will let me know when those lambs stop screaming, won't you?".
- When Lecter escapes, Clarice is certain that Lecter won't come after her, as "[Lecter] would consider that rude".
- At the end of the film, Lecter calls Clarice asking her once again if the lambs stopped screaming.
So, what gives? Why does Lecter appease to Clarice so much? I am not entirely clear on this, as the film never really explains it. There's even a scene where Ardellia asks why Lecter won't come after Clarice, and Clarice responded "I can't explain it...".
Best Answer
At first Lecter considers Clarice just another "rube" to be manipulated...
LECTER: You know what you look like to me, with your good bag and your cheap shoes? You look like a rube. A well scrubbed, hustling rube with a little taste. Good nutrition's given you some length of bone, but you're not more than one generation from poor white trash, are you, Agent Starling?
....but a defining characteristic of Hannibal Lecter is his desire for good manners.
(All media in which Lecter appears portray him as intellectually brilliant, cultured and sophisticated, with refined tastes in art, music and cuisine.
He is deeply offended by rudeness, and frequently kills people who have bad manners. Prior to his capture and imprisonment, he was a member of Baltimore, Maryland's social elite, and a sitting member of the Baltimore Philharmonic Orchestra's board of directors.)
Consequently, although Clarice is initially sent away, when the other inmate (Miggs) flings semen on her he takes offence on her behalf as, essentially, she is his guest.
It's later revealed that Lecter talks Miggs into committing suicide.
As for the lambs screaming, he's still a psychiatrist and the lamb incident was an defining moment for Clarice so he's interested in it. She had a need to save the lambs even though they were destined for slaughter.
LECTER: And you think if you save poor Catherine, you could make them stop, don't you? You think if Catherine lives, you won't wake up in the dark ever again to that awful screaming of the lambs.
So when Clarice manages to kill Buffalo Bill and save his victim Lecter wonders whether that was enough to dispel (at least in part) the childhood trauma and perhaps, now, the lambs have stopped screaming in her mind.
There's nothing personal in his escape and her attempt to capture him, it's just what they do. He wouldn't come after Clarice as an act of revenge as, she says, it would be "rude" in his mind...that what she figures out after initially saying she "can't explain it". She can't explain it in any other terms.
Plus. he still finds her interesting..
LECTER: I've no plans to call on you, Clarice. The world is more interesting with you in it.
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Does Hannibal respect Clarice?
In Silence of the Lambs (1991), the wicked, manipulative Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) seems to have esteem for the naive FBI student Clarice (Jodie Foster). Evidences: At first, Lecter agrees to help Clarice, presumably after one of the inmates threw semen at her, which Lecter considers "unspeakably ugly".Was Hannibal in love with Clarice in Silence of the Lambs?
You see, Hannibal and Clarice didn't love one another. There was no \u201chuman love\u201d between them, like Jodie Foster mentioned in her interview. There was nothing there because Lecter is incapable of feeling love, or empathy, or any type of altruism at all.What is the relationship between Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling?
For Clarice, it's her father. For Hannibal, it's his little sister. The Hannibal novel, however, has a lot going on that isn't really explained. Hannibal somehow comes to believe in necromancy; that Clarice is a perfect vessel for his little sister's (Mischa's) consciousness.What is the significance of the lambs in Silence of the Lambs?
Sure, on a large scale, the lambs can be said to be symbols of innocence and sacrifice, but within the specific context of the story, the lambs represent nothing less than why Clarice is even in the story in the first place: her compulsion to save the innocent.The Truth About Hannibal Lecter's Backstory Revealed
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