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Chapter 57
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
Crawford invites Starling into his office so they can see what the media is making of the case. Unsurprisingly, they have sensationalized every aspect of it, with lurid pictures of Gumb’s basement on proud display. Following the images of the basement is a message from Senator Martin, updating the nation of Catherine’s status. Apparently, she is doing well and is set to make as full a recovery as possible. Crawford tells Starling that the Senator wants to speak with her and recommends getting on her good side because she will likely be of use in the future. Additionally, Crawford warns Starling to be careful. Now that Lecter is on the loose, he could come after her. Starling takes the point but does not think Lecter has an interest in hurting her.
At this point, there is not much damage the media can do, so they get access to a lot of the case’s morbid details. Meanwhile, Crawford’s suggestion that Starling get on Senator Martin’s good side implies that he thinks Starling will have a long and prestigious career in the FBI. Meanwhile, his warning about Lecter sets up a sequel to the novel, which Harris eventually wrote and published under the name Hannibal in 1999.
Themes
