Hannibal: A Method Behind His Madness?

By BlueSorceress

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Webmistress’ Note:  This is not a work of fanfiction.  Rather, it is a formal hypothesis about one particular diagnosis for Dr. Hannibal Lecter’s “madness” and an argument supporting it.

This paper does not necessarily reflect the views of the author or of Visionary.  It is simply something different.

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His tastes are exquisite and his intellect unrivaled. He is the epitome of politeness and a perfect picture of calm control. His father was a Lithuanian count and his mother was an Italian Visconti. He’s whimsical…methodical…ruthless. He is Dr. Hannibal “the cannibal” Lecter, so perfect a creation that many people fear for their livers. Lecter has terrified, thrilled, and enthralled audiences and readers alike for over two decades. Even Julianne Moore, the silver screen’s newest actress to take on the role of Hannibal’s love, Clarice Starling, has fallen for the doctor’s Old World charm: “He’s the bad guy you root for!”

But Lecter’s gentlemanly persona doesn’t entirely conceal his true serial killer nature. With over 16 gruesome murders to his name, the good doctor has become something of an icon, for better or worse. Academy Award winning actor, Anthony Hopkins finds nothing wrong with society’s envelopment of Hannibal Lecter. He says:

It doesn’t make us psychologically disturbed. It gives us a moment of coming close to the dark side of ourselves…I believe that a character like Hannibal Lecter is fiction, but he’s a part of all our darker, deeper shadows (McIntyre 32).

And what a shadow Dr. Lecter makes. The two books he’s been prominently featured in have gone on to become best sellers (King). Silence of the Lambs, when it came out in theaters, took home all five major Oscars, something that’s only happened two other times (Falk 182). These things speak to Dr. Lecter’s popularity. He fascinates people. They’ve found a morbid curiosity, some even a kinship, with the diabolical doctor. But to many, Lecter remains a mystery. They know who he is, what he is, what he’s done, but not why. The answers to those questions can never be completely given as Lecter if fictional and exhibits several contradictory personality and behavioral traits. But I believe that Hannibal Lecter is suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and that’s what makes him behave as he does.

A little background information on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is necessary. According to psychologist Dr. Amanda Frechin, PTSD is a dissociative disorder that comes as a result of an extreme physical or psychological trauma; it can occur in anyone at any age; the symptoms can last for a life time and it is more likely to occur in the face of multiple traumas. PTSD is somewhat peculiar because it doesn’t stem from an internal source but rather from the traumatic event itself so, even healthy and well-adjusted people can suffer from it (Hockenbury 563).  The symptoms of PTSD include, but are not limited to:  “recurrent distressing memories of the event; recurrent dreams of the event; flashback episodes; feelings of detachment; sense of foreshortened future; sleeping difficulties; irritability or outbursts of anger; exaggerated startle response sense of guilt about the event and intense distress at events that symbolize an aspect of the event” (WebMD). There are four categories these symptoms can be divided into: intrusive memories, flashbacks, etc. of the experience; an avoidance of anything that leads to  memories of the experience; “emotional numbing”; and, finally,  the more physical reactions such as nightmares, irritability, angry outbursts, etc. (Hockenbury 562). Dr. Frechin stated that a person does not have to exhibit all of these symptoms to be diagnosed with PTSD and that because of that it’s quite possible that it is what Hannibal Lecter is suffering from.

Dr. Lecter’s background has remained a mystery to many people up until recently. Nothing personal about him was known except that he was a world renowned psychiatrist and he had a penchant for the finer things of life. But in his latest novel featuring the gentleman killer, Thomas Harris let his readers in on a very significant event in Hannibal’s past. A small summary doesn’t do the passage justice but in the interest of time and space, I’m going to reduce it to that. The year was 1944 with World War II in full swing and the Eastern front had just collapsed. Several Nazi deserters found their way to a count’s estate outside of Vilnius in Lithuania and shelled it. The initial deaths included all of the servants and the estate’s owners, Hannibal Lecter’s parents. The deserters then took the children, including six-year-old Hannibal and his two-year-old baby sister Mischa, and held them captive in the barn. When their supply of animals ran out, the men came into the barn looking for sustenance. As none of the children has frozen to death they had to take live ones. Hannibal, himself, had his thigh, chest, and arm felt up for meat but, instead, they settled on Mischa Lecter. Despite his attempts to hold on to her, Hannibal failed. For the next few days, he was obsessed with prayers that he would see her again. His prayers were answered—he saw her baby teeth in the nearby stool pit the captors were using.

Obviously, the death of his parents would have been enough to qualify as a traumatic event. The most severe type of loss a child can experience is that of his mother’s death (Mitchell 106). Add on top of that the cannibalization of his sister and I’d say we have Hannibal’s traumatic experience.

If you’ll recall, one of the major symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a frequent recollection of the event. In Hannibal readers are given glimpses inside the infamous cannibal’s mind. There are indeed several occurrences of Hannibal remembering his sister’s death, the first in any book Lecter is in. And in a book where very little is actually given of Hannibal’s personal thoughts and feelings, he remembers that day in 1944 no less than 11 times. Some are only passing, fleeting moments of recollect, but there are several intense instances where Lecter finds himself facing the torrid memories of his little sister. The first significant occurrence of this is when Hannibal is still in Florence. He finds himself wide awake after a vivid dream of Mischa, “long dead and digested” (Hannibal 209). The dream is something he can’t get past and ultimately makes him feel as if he’s in danger. Later, when he’s on a plane to Detroit, he tries his technique of escaping into his memory palace only to find himself assaulted by a total recall of his Nazi captors and their slaughter of Mischa (Hannibal 290-1). Another time we’re privy to these intrusive thoughts is when Hannibal indulges himself in one of his favorite pastimes—playing the harpsichord. As he progresses through Mozart’s “Sonata in B Flat,” he once again finds himself under the oppressive weight of the events back in Lithuania (Hannibal 329). Two of those three times, Lecter’s famous calm slips and he winds up screaming his feelings. On a personal note, I wish Harris had put in exactly what emotions is was that made Hannibal break his control and cry out. Could it be frustration that the thoughts still plague him; anger at the injustice of Mischa’s murder; guilt that she was taken instead of him; or maybe even remorse at the loss? It’s an interesting question that I hope Thomas Harris will get around to answering.

This now puts us as the issue of avoidance of certain stimuli. This symptom doesn’t display itself so openly in Lecter but it is present, albeit very subtly. I had to really look around for this one. Harris is an author notorious for trying to slip in little things between the cracks. And usually, the little things are important. Anyway, the one substantial piece of evidence showing Lecter’s avoidance of anything that reminds him of those events occurs in a perfume shop. Dr. Lecter often entertains the idea that he could smell with all parts of his body, hands, face, feet, arms, and so on (Hannibal 214). In the film, Silence of the Lambs, we see further evidence of the import of smell to him when he proceeds to tell Clarice Starling exactly what body perfumes and lotions she uses. But as much as he might enjoy his unique sense of smell, it can be a troublesome things as well, for certain smells trigger bad memories (Hannibal 214). The text goes on to hint that the memories that certain smells dredge up are connected with his memory palace and Mischa’s murder. So he shies away from smells he finds unpleasant (Hannibal 215). This goes right along with the PTSD stimuli avoidance symptom. This connection slipped past me the first time I read the novel, as did one other example of avoidance Lecter demonstrates. In Florence, Dr. Lecter attends the Atrocious Torture Instruments show so that he might watch people and their behavior. While there, he happens to glance up and spots a skeleton in a starvation cage and quickly makes an exit (Hannibal 184). I think it is quite reasonable to think that the starvation cage made Hannibal think of his sister’s death. He left to avoid having any flashbacks or further reminders of the traumatic event. It’s even more plausible to think this considering that later that night he goes on to have a nightmare about Mischa. And another time, while watching Starling run in the woods, a startled deer catches Lecter’s attention which reminds him of the bloody the Nazi deserters ate just before Mischa; he leaves immediately (Hannibal 320). This is yet another representation of his avoidance of certain stimuli. I’ll admit that while stimuli avoidance isn’t a prevalent aspect of Hannibal Lecter’s behavior, it is there in small quantities.

While looking at the “emotional numbing” symptom of PTSD, I think the films provide the best reference of Lecter’s personality. Anthony Hopkins portrayed Lecter with a gleeful malevolence that managed to chill even Hannibal creator, Thomas Harris (McIntyre 32). Hannibal Lecter’s famed calm and control are shown quite clearly in Hopkins’ stunning performance. We see it in Silence of the Lambs with the slaughter of the two prison guards. There is such a complete serenity in Lecter’s character at that moment which displays the PTSD symptom quite clearly. Even a serial killer must be suffering from some sort of disturbance to have that level of emotional detachment (Frechin). We see Hannibal’s aloofness again in the more recent film, Hannibal. This time around Hopkins brings a more cavalier sense to Lecter’s killings. Rinaldo Pazzi’s disemboweling and hanging was highlighted with the airy comments of “Bowels in or out?” and “Okey dokey.” And in the controversial brain feast at the end, Hopkins accentuates Lecter’s sense of indifference with the dark jest he makes while peeling the top of Paul Krendler’s head off: “all we ask is that you keep an open mind.” Throughout all the films though, the most important thing to note is the expression Lecter wears. His face is virtually unreadable and he blinks very rarely. While it easy to maintain the so-called poker face, Hannibal transcends that and moves it to an entirely new level. Facial gestures are perhaps the most accurate way to understand what a person is feeling. And when Hannibal Lecter’s face shows nothing, that is what he’s feeling. At one point, Dr. Lecter even admits to a sort of nonchalance concerning his own situation. In a letter to Clarice he discusses her trouble with the FBI: “I have followed with enthusiasm the course of your disgrace and public shaming. My own never bother me except for the inconvenience of being incarcerated…” (Hannibal 34). He just plain out doesn’t care. It is my honest belief that at least part of the emotional void that Hannibal Lecter presents can be ascribed to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Lastly, there are the more physical symptoms of PTSD. Lecter, as explained above, does experience sleep disturbances. There is, however, another physical symptom he experiences quite frequently and with surprising regularity—irritability. Actor Anthony Hopkins calls it “his impatience with anything that is corrupt, third rate and cheap and vulgar” (McIntyre 31). And what a good description it is. Lecter’s ultimate flaw is his tendency to act upon his irritability. There was Lecter’s victim, Benjamin Raspail whose “sweetbreads” Hannibal took and served at a dinner party held for his then companion, Rachel DuBerry (Hannibal 338).  Hannibal dubs him, “Raspail, of the gluey flute” and had killed him to improve the sound of the Boston Philharmonic (Silence of the Lambs 53). That displays his irritation for anything third rate. When Paul Krendler destroyed Starling’s career for money, Lecter serves up his brain at a dinner party he orchestrates for Clarice (Hannibal 527-32); here is the corruptness he won’t tolerate. Upon his first meeting with Clarice, a patient in the asylum, Miggs,  throws semen in her face and Lecter responds by later talking Miggs into swallowing his “offensive tongue” (Silence of the Lambs 56). The vulgarity of the whole situation embarrassed him which he responded to by killing Miggs, from a certain point of view. These things all point to how easily Lecter will act upon a sense of irritability.

Hannibal Lecter is not an easy person to analyze. Thomas Harris doesn’t make it easy to pick out any of Lecter’s personality flaws and psychological problems. They are scattered throughout the texts and movies but are very well hidden and disguised. Grasping hold of enough clues to establish who or what Dr. Hannibal Lecter is, is a supreme challenge. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is quite possibly what Hannibal suffers from. And it may not be. Whatever he is or has though, there’s no denying that he’ll always remain an enigma to generations of readers and viewers.

Fin

Copyright 2001, BlueSorceress