By: Catie Reagin Prompt #2
Period 4
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo deals with the obvious power struggle of businesses Millennium and Wennerström cooperation. The power struggle that most people don’t seem to see except for Henrik Vanger is that between his families due to the disappearance of a member, Harriet Vanger, forty years ago. Author Stieg Larsson does a marvelous job at explaining the different power struggles that each character faced throughout their lives. The character that probably has to fight through the most struggles of power is Lisbeth Slander’s to stay in constant power with her job, her family, sex, and love in general.
When Mikeal Blomkvist is hired by Henrik Vanger to investigate his long lost niece Blomkvist notices that someone has been hacking on to his computer. This hacker is none other than Lisbeth Slander who was hired at one point to look in to Blomkvist because of his recent accusations in his magazine, Millennium, against Mr. Wennerström cooperation. Blomkvist is not mad and asks her to help him with this investigation. Slander keeps herself distant from Blomkvist for a long time and does not give him any insight into her life. She strives to have constant power in her jobs by keeping herself as isolated from the boss as possible. She has never had a good relationship with men and has tried to keep her twisted history from interfering with her jobs.
Lisbeth Slander was put in to psych ward because of her constant abusive acts as a child. She was let go and put under the guardianship of a nice man. Unfortunately, once he died she was transferred to another guardian who was abusive and rationed her money. When Slander goes to him for some money he forces her to give him oral sex and then gives her money he needs. She goes back with a video tape expecting the same thing to happen but because he was scared of losing power her guardian tied her down and raped her. Lisbeth Slander did not want to go to the cops because she had fear of the power of the court decided to gain her power back on her own terms. She returns to his house unannounced and then ties him up and anally rapes him. She gives him the orders and to leave her alone forever or she will show the media the tape of him raping her.