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Chapter 19
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
Jame Gumb—whom the press calls Buffalo Bill—sings while showering in his home. He alters his voice to sound feminine, though he is not on any hormones. When he gets out of the shower, Gumb puts on make-up and poses by a mirror with his genitals tucked in between his legs. He talks to himself about how sexually attractive he is.
Here, Gumb’s motivations start to become apparent, though they are still murky. His behavior in this scene suggests that he feels like a woman or, perhaps, likes to pretend he is one. These details, combined with his tendency to kill women who are the same as him, suggest a connection between his violence and his gender identity—an aspect of the novel that has received criticism because of the risk in runs of implying an association between trans identity and mental illness.
Themes
Gumb walks over to his bedroom door and lets his dog, Precious, into the room. Then he gets dressed and puts a large gun on his bed. After, he goes downstairs and eats a TV dinner. He also gives one to Precious. Following dinner, Gumb lets Precious outside to go to the bathroom. He uses baby talk whenever he speaks to Precious, as though she is his child.
The inclusion of Precious is surprising if one knows the psychology of serial killers. A trait that most serial killers share is a disregard for the lives of animals. However, Gumb treats Precious as though she is his child.
Themes
When Precious finishes going to the bathroom, Gumb returns inside. He picks up his dinner scraps and carries them down to the basement. Then, he places the scraps in a bucket attached to a pulley system and sends them down to Catherine Martin, whom he has placed in an oubliette. The entire time, Gumb sings a song to Precious while ignoring the screams coming from the oubliette.
This scene juxtaposes the seemingly lighthearted Gumb with Catherine’s terrified screams. This juxtaposition shows the fundamental disconnect Gumb has with Catherine’s plight. Her screams do not resonate with him at all; she is nothing to him.
Themes
