100 Kick-Ass Female Characters: #80
80. Lisbeth Salander, as seen in the novels The Millennium Trilogy: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson and the films Män som hatar kvinnor, Flickan som lekte med elden, and Luftslottet som sprängdes (Swedish language versions) portrayed by Noomi Rapace and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (English language version) portrayed by Rooney Mara
As a rule, I am not a big fan of mysteries. Generally I find them to be very formulaic and, since I usually figure out what the "twist" is before the end, the thrill is kind of gone for me. I also tend to stay away from the mystery genre because it's usually male-focused. When The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was the "it" book a few years ago, I avoided it at first because it just wasn't my thing. My friend insisted I read it, and the first three chapters were so outright boring, I just couldn't pick it up again. And then I ended up having to sit at the hospital with a client for 8 hours and it was the only book I had on me. I ended up devouring it that night and immediately bought the sequels. And though the books are ostensibly about Mikael Blomkvist, the most tireless journalist in Sweden, anyone who has read the books know that this series is about Lisbeth.
Lisbeth Salander is a female character I had never really seen before in literature. When we meet Lisbeth, she's a socially isolated investigator who, for unknown reasons, has been declared an incompetent person by the Swedish government and is required to have a conservator. Her prior conservator has been stricken ill with a stroke, which severely disrupts her life because he was a nice man who knew Lisbeth was not incompetent and gave her freedom; her new conservator, Nils Bjurman, will only allow her access to her bank accounts after forcing Lisbeth to give him a blowjob and, when she goes to his apartment with the intent of videotaping him forcing her to fellate him again, she finds herself viciously attacked by Bjurman, handcuffed to the bed and sodomized. Lisbeth's extract her revenge; her camera recorded the brutal rape, and, after stun gunning Bjurman, she sodomizes him and tattoos "I'm a Rapist Pig" across his chest before promising to kill him if he ever breaks one of her rules again. Around this time, Blomkvist discovers that the man who hired him, Henrik Vanger, who wants to know who murdered his 16-year-old niece 40 years earlier, used Lisbeth to investigate him prior to hiring him. Blomkvist enlists Lisbeth in helping him track down who murdered Harriet Vanger. Lisbeth and Blomkvist share a sexual relationship (perhaps one of the most awkward ones in literary history) and there are hints throughout the series that Lisbeth has some type of Asperger's Syndrome which accounts for her inability to understand basic social interaction. The initial solving of the Harriet Vanger kidnapping/murder is just the start of the series and it is not until the later volumes we see more of Lisbeth and what has shaped her into the person she is.
Lisbeth is a polarizing character. I've seen people praise her and I've seen other people call her a Mary Sue. While these books are by no means perfect (the writing is a bit bumbling at times, and it has a tendency to meander at times), I think it's unfair to call Lisbeth a Mary Sue. Yes, she's a hacker who is also able to physically defend herself; she has a photographic memory and there are hints throughout the books that Blomkvist feels for Lisbeth the same she feels for him. But what I love about Lisbeth is that, for all of her seemingly "perfect" traits, she's actually a huge mess. She cannot handle Blomkvist's perceived rejection, so she cuts the man out of her life. She has a twin sister whom refuses to have contact with her. She often seems to want to participate or at least understand human interaction but cannot quite seem to master it. When bad things are done to her, she often lashes out in ways that are equally as bad.
But what I love most about Lisbeth is, for all of the times she is victimized throughout the series, she is never a victim. Lisbeth believes in fairness and in justice, which she knows isn't always available through traditional means. When she is raped, she seeks vengeance on her rapist; when her father beats her mother, Lisbeth sets him on fire. The world is black and white for Lisbeth, you are with her or against her, and it gives her a moral ambiguity which is rare for a heroine. I also love the freedom with which Lisbeth approaches her sexuality. Throughout the series, we see Lisbeth not only indulge in an affair with Blomkvist but women as well; she does not label her sexuality and scoffs at those who do. Lisbeth is who she is, and she does not give a single fuck what anyone thinks about it. Lisbeth is the type of character who you can simultaneously love and hate at the same time, who makes you think and makes you look away, and it's a degree of darkness that rarely gets explored in women.
And that's pretty kick-ass.
**Random side note: If you do decide to watch the movies, I'd recommend the Swedish, subtitled versions. The rape scenes in the American version are much more sexualized, and Noomi Rapace does a far better job as Lisbeth.
As a rule, I am not a big fan of mysteries. Generally I find them to be very formulaic and, since I usually figure out what the "twist" is before the end, the thrill is kind of gone for me. I also tend to stay away from the mystery genre because it's usually male-focused. When The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was the "it" book a few years ago, I avoided it at first because it just wasn't my thing. My friend insisted I read it, and the first three chapters were so outright boring, I just couldn't pick it up again. And then I ended up having to sit at the hospital with a client for 8 hours and it was the only book I had on me. I ended up devouring it that night and immediately bought the sequels. And though the books are ostensibly about Mikael Blomkvist, the most tireless journalist in Sweden, anyone who has read the books know that this series is about Lisbeth.
Lisbeth Salander is a female character I had never really seen before in literature. When we meet Lisbeth, she's a socially isolated investigator who, for unknown reasons, has been declared an incompetent person by the Swedish government and is required to have a conservator. Her prior conservator has been stricken ill with a stroke, which severely disrupts her life because he was a nice man who knew Lisbeth was not incompetent and gave her freedom; her new conservator, Nils Bjurman, will only allow her access to her bank accounts after forcing Lisbeth to give him a blowjob and, when she goes to his apartment with the intent of videotaping him forcing her to fellate him again, she finds herself viciously attacked by Bjurman, handcuffed to the bed and sodomized. Lisbeth's extract her revenge; her camera recorded the brutal rape, and, after stun gunning Bjurman, she sodomizes him and tattoos "I'm a Rapist Pig" across his chest before promising to kill him if he ever breaks one of her rules again. Around this time, Blomkvist discovers that the man who hired him, Henrik Vanger, who wants to know who murdered his 16-year-old niece 40 years earlier, used Lisbeth to investigate him prior to hiring him. Blomkvist enlists Lisbeth in helping him track down who murdered Harriet Vanger. Lisbeth and Blomkvist share a sexual relationship (perhaps one of the most awkward ones in literary history) and there are hints throughout the series that Lisbeth has some type of Asperger's Syndrome which accounts for her inability to understand basic social interaction. The initial solving of the Harriet Vanger kidnapping/murder is just the start of the series and it is not until the later volumes we see more of Lisbeth and what has shaped her into the person she is.
Lisbeth is a polarizing character. I've seen people praise her and I've seen other people call her a Mary Sue. While these books are by no means perfect (the writing is a bit bumbling at times, and it has a tendency to meander at times), I think it's unfair to call Lisbeth a Mary Sue. Yes, she's a hacker who is also able to physically defend herself; she has a photographic memory and there are hints throughout the books that Blomkvist feels for Lisbeth the same she feels for him. But what I love about Lisbeth is that, for all of her seemingly "perfect" traits, she's actually a huge mess. She cannot handle Blomkvist's perceived rejection, so she cuts the man out of her life. She has a twin sister whom refuses to have contact with her. She often seems to want to participate or at least understand human interaction but cannot quite seem to master it. When bad things are done to her, she often lashes out in ways that are equally as bad.
But what I love most about Lisbeth is, for all of the times she is victimized throughout the series, she is never a victim. Lisbeth believes in fairness and in justice, which she knows isn't always available through traditional means. When she is raped, she seeks vengeance on her rapist; when her father beats her mother, Lisbeth sets him on fire. The world is black and white for Lisbeth, you are with her or against her, and it gives her a moral ambiguity which is rare for a heroine. I also love the freedom with which Lisbeth approaches her sexuality. Throughout the series, we see Lisbeth not only indulge in an affair with Blomkvist but women as well; she does not label her sexuality and scoffs at those who do. Lisbeth is who she is, and she does not give a single fuck what anyone thinks about it. Lisbeth is the type of character who you can simultaneously love and hate at the same time, who makes you think and makes you look away, and it's a degree of darkness that rarely gets explored in women.
And that's pretty kick-ass.
**Random side note: If you do decide to watch the movies, I'd recommend the Swedish, subtitled versions. The rape scenes in the American version are much more sexualized, and Noomi Rapace does a far better job as Lisbeth.