#There's a lot I more I could write in pertains to my obsession with Julia...

[mid0nz-archive]

The Cannibal & the Consulting Criminal: How Silence and Sherlock Taught Me to Read

(I’m writing a series of autobiographical essays. This meta is a messy. messy warm up…)  

PART I:  TSotL The Odd Flash of Contextual Intelligence

Know your intertexts (and the limits of their influence)

I’ve spent a LOT of time writing about the influence of Harris on Mark Gatiss in particular. We have Harris to thank for Sherlock’s mind palace for starters. Moriarty and Dr. Lecter share many traits. Then again so do the psychiatrist and Sherlock. I’ll come back to these obvious connections between Sherlock and TSotL in a later part of this meta. (The connections are actually quite superficial.) For now I want to return to my first obsession: the genius cannibal who taught me how to read and the fandom that saved me from him.

Do your research.

Thomas Harris, author of The Silence of the Lambs, choses every word with great care. How many people, for example, do you know called Hannibal? Clarice is more common I suppose, but it’s certainly not a run-of-the-mill monicker. While starlings are the most common of birds have you ever met someone with that surname? Have you ever met a Lecter?  What if I told you there is an extremely obscure historical figure called Hannibal the Starling? (You’ll find the reference in Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology if you seek.) Would you think that Harris must have heard of that man? Possibly. Possibly. If I told you that Harris makes most of his characters’ names up– that they sound plausible enough, but unless you’re an everyman like a Jack Crawford or a Will Graham you’re a Francis Dolarhyde or an Ardelia Mapp.

Ardelia Mapp? In the novel Ardelia is Clarice Starling’s roommate at the FBI academy. When exams roll around and Clarice has been too busy hunting Buffalo Bill to read her textbooks, it’s Ardelia who makes sure that Clarice knows all about search and seizures. Adelia Mapp. Ardeila Mapp. What kind of name is that? It helps if we cram along with Clarice:

Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (1961), was a landmark case in criminal procedure, in which the United States Supreme Court decided that evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects against “unreasonable searches and seizures”, may not be used in criminal prosecutions in state [or] federal courts. (x)

Hey Thomas Harris!

Recognize when there’s a joke and you’re not getting it.

Thomas Harris amuses himself with language. Clarice comes from the Latin root clar and the words related to pertain to brilliance and light and the illustrative. And Lecter? So many people have tried to trace its origins but all becomes clear when you think about its etymology. In Latin lector means reader.

Clarice’s boss, Jack Crawford, likes to quote impressive sounding things out of context. Dr. Lecter mocks him for picking and choosing passages of the Meditations of the Roman Emperor, Stoic philosopher, and persecutor of Christians, Marcus Aurelius.

“I’ve read the cases, Clarice, have you? Everything you need to know to find him is right there [in the case files], if you’re paying attention. Even Inspector Emeritus, Crawford should have figured it out. Incidentally, did you read Crawford’s stupefying speech last year to the National Police academy? Spouting Marcus Aurelius on duty and honor and fortitude— we’ll see what kind of a Stoic Crawford is when Bella [his wife] bites the big one. He copies his philosophy out of Bartlett’s Familiar, I think. If he understood Marcus Aurelius, he might solve this case.”   “Tell me how.”   “When you show the odd flash of contextual intelligence, I forget your generation can’t read, Clarice. The Emperor councils simplicity. First principles. Of each particular thing, ask: What is it in itself, in its own constitution? What is its causal nature?”   “That doesn’t mean anything to me.”   “What does he do, the man you want?”

I could go on and on about how Harris allows Dr. Lecter to reference Stoicism and all kinds of other ideas for his own amusement. I say amusement because the reader need not understand Dr. Lecter’s jokes to enjoy Harris’ books. Clarice doesn’t and she doesn’t pretend to. Oh how Dr. Lecter fancies his student! I could go on and on because the entire fucking book is a compendium of in-jokes. That in itself is Stoic food for thought. Diogenes Laertius recounts a Stoic idea that Harris likes to chew on.

“Some appearances are expert (technikai), others are inexpert; at any rate a picture is observed differently by an expert and the inexpert person.”

Julia Annas explains:

A non-expert will just see figures; the expert will see figures that represent gods.  The expert is right— there really is that significance- and the non-expert is missing something. What is more surprising to us is the claim that the appearance is itself “expert.” The expert is not seeing anything that is not there for the ignoramus to see.  It is the fault of the ignoramus that he fails to see what is to be seen, because he fails to understand the content of what is presents to him. (82) - Hellenistic Philosophy of Mind by Julia Annas

Lecter, the consummate reader, is the expert. Clarice, who’s not more than one generation from the mines, is the ignoramus.  Yet she shows the odd flash of contextual intelligence.

Discern clues from NOISE.

Though their relationship was weird, close, and lasting Clarice would never realize that Dr. Lecter gave her everything she needed to know to catch Buffalo Bill the first time they met!

On that fateful day, with instructions from Jack Crawford to note anything and everything she sees, Clarice shows enough intelligence to asks Dr. Lecter about the drawings in his cell. Dr. Lecter replies:

It’s Florence. That’s the Palazzo Vecchio and the Duomo, seen from the Belvedere. Do you know Florence?“

If Clarice were prepared "to read” Dr. Lecter’s work, she might have understood the significance of the image. She’s the very model of the Stoic ignoramus.

Clarice finds Buffalo Bill/Jame Gumb by recognizing his personal acquaintance with the first victim he skinned, Fredrica Bimmel. They both lived in Belvedere, Ohio where Clarice finds Gumb while Crawford’s teams go all SWAT on John Grant’s last known address. We find out later in the novel that Dr. Lecter knew Gumb lived in Belvedere, Ohio.  Perhaps he was musing on the facts of the case while composing his sketches.

Jack Crawford, of all people, should have noticed the name “Belvedere” and made the connection.  His dying wife’s name is Phyllis but he’s called her Bella for most of their entire relationship. Phyllis and Jack were both stationed in Italy and during one of their outings, a man called Phyllis “Bella,” or beauty.  Bella is the feminine form; “bel” is the masculine form, as in bel vedere, or beautiful view.  We learn later that Clarice has to work hard to trick herself into seeing any beauty in Belvedere, Ohio.  

Now you’ve got the facts. Theorize with them.

There is another explanation as to why Crawford might have missed the clue in Dr. Lecter’s drawing from Clarice’s notes.  Clarice does not know Italian. How would she have written the sketch’s title in her report? Dr. Lecter does not say, when she asks about the sketch, that is is the Old Plaza and the Dome seen from the Belvedere (pronounced in English, be-vuh-deer as in Belvedere, Ohio). Dr. Lecter says all the proper names in Italian except “Florence.” Florence is the English name for the city Italians call Firenze.  Clarice’s ear would catch “Florence” and it may be that her report stated that the sketch was of Florence, but no further details.  She doesn’t, after all, ask Dr. Lecter how to spell the names of the places with which she is unfamiliar.  Crawford, reading a reasonably detailed report from Clarice, might have only noted that Dr. Lecter was sketching Florence– enough detail for a report if you don’t know what you’re looking at.  Clarice, while an ignoramus in the Stoic sense, shows potential.  Dr. Lecter is polite when he surmises that she is “innocent of the Gospel of St. John.” He calls her innocent, not ignorant.  She’s simply not an expert in iconography. She sees all she can see in the image.  Crawford, however, is experienced enough with Dr. Lecter to know how important images are to him.  Will Graham captured Dr. Lecter in Red Dragon by recognizing that one of his victims was posed in a tableau of a Wound Man in one of Dr. Lecter’s books.  Graham was an expert. We can’t be sure from simply reading the text that Dr. Lecter isn’t making the epiphany of “Belvedere” especially difficult to decode even if Clarice were to have written a verbatim transcript of their discussion. In speech Dr. Lecter may be pronouncing the proper names as an American would, or, alternately, with an Italian accent.  He could be pronouncing the incidental proper names (Palazzo Vecchio and the Duomo) in an Italian accent and “Belvedere” in an American accent to dare Clarice and Jack to take notice. Or, he could be pronouncing all the names in an Italian accent, a fact could be lost in translation between Clarice, innocent of Italian, and Crawford, who knows just enough to have had an epiphany. Each scenario is possible and each reveals a slightly different interpretation of Dr. Lecter’s motives. If we take Thomas Harris himself as the final authority, in the audiobook Harris reads Dr. Lecter’s part. Harris says all proper nouns including “Belvedere” with an Italian accent (albeit with a Mississippi drawl.)

Yeah ok SO WHAT?! And what about Sherlock?!

In Part II I’ll talk about TSotL as an intertext to Sherlock and the limits of this influence. I’ll compare Dr. Lecter’s method of reading to James Moriarty’s. I’ll talk about why & how I crawled out of the cannibal’s skull and into the consulting criminal’s and where I am going next… Or I just might try to revamp this to make more sense. I dunno…

[thefearlessgastronomist]

Bibliophile (n): a person who has a great love of books

This word has described me since the day I learned to read. I took to books like a duck to water and have surrounded myself with them ever since, building a personal library that now spans hundreds of titles and a plethora of genres. 

While it is not technically a genre per se, my collection has recently begun including foodie novels – literature of both the fictional and non-fictional varieties, pertaining to adventures in food and cooking. Similar to my forays into magazine reading, my interests in culinary experiences has now shifted to novel-length materials as well... no matter how boring some people think it might be.

EAT PRAY LOVE . . . BUT MOSTLY EAT

A few years ago (checking my Goodreads activity, let me correct that to six years ago – yikes!), I read a little best-seller called Eat Pray Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert. I could definitely write a whole post about EPL (and I’m surprised I haven’t yet, so let me add it to my to-do list). Long story short: I absolutely loved it. Surprisingly enough, I also loved its movie. You could say that this is where my love for food (and by association, travel) writing began. EPL receives a lot of flack for its self-indulgent content and similar writing style, but I enjoyed it regardless and have the reading notes full of anecdotes to prove it. Especially so for her four months spent in Italy, where her main goal was to rediscover her passion about and pleasure in eating food. As she says, with “no carb left behind.” Sounds like my kind of trip.

Even if I didn’t know it at the time, I believe part of what takes place in the “Eat” portion of Eat Pray Love shaped my views of gastronomy. Like when Liz says she is “having a relationship” with her pizza in Naples (Napoli), and in response to gaining weight simply says that she will just buy bigger pants. While I’m not sure I recall it’s textual counterparts, you also can’t help but be jealous of the Julia Roberts version of Liz Gilbert eating a heaping plate of spaghetti all'Amatriciana, enjoying a glass of red wine, and translating her Italian newspaper while sitting street-side at a restaurant in Rome. Even the introduction and cooking of a “Thanksgiving feast” with her various friends in Italy could make Americans appreciate that particular holiday a little more. Maybe it’s because I myself am (quarter-)Italian, and I like myself a good dose of Italian culture in book and film form, but I also believe – in a world so full of diet and weight-obsessed culture – people could really take some notes from this particular reference. Please, people, for the love of parmigiana, learn to love food again! Or at least read this section of the book so you can start.

FEARLESS READS

Although there were quite a few years between Eat Pray Love and diving into my own adoration for food, I can confidently say that the book and the film still resonates with me on a gastronomic and spiritual level. Obviously enough to, ya know, talk about it here on The Fearless Gastronomist. Once I started collecting culinary-based literature this year (Half-Priced Books has done well for me in that aspect!), I knew I wanted to create a space on The Fearless Gastronomist for the sake of talking about them and any further experiences like the one I had with EPL. I love talking about books just as much as I love talking about food, just to forewarn you.

FEARLESS READS, while currently just a reading list, is also (in my mind at least) equal parts a section for book reviews, as well as an incredibly informal book club – for some bloggers, reviews and clubs have somehow become synonymous, calling it a club when really it’s just a review, but hey, we’ll just roll with it and see what becomes of it. When all else fails (read: no one else participates), a “Book Club for One” it shall be. Complete with wine (or maybe tea) and good personal discussion with myself here on my lovely blog. 

From this, you will see posts pertaining to what I’m currently reading – should you decide you want to read along – as well as book reviews, and maybe even a few discussion questions and my responses to them. Details (as of October 2017) remain a little fuzzy. But hey! That’s the beauty of solo book clubbing; I can make it up as I go. I can, however, say with conviction that I would like to tell you how I felt about the book and respond to questions spawned from the reading material, since that is really the aspect of book club I miss out on. 

For more information about FEARLESS READS, click here.