Psychologists have emphasized the need to identify one’s personality as one determines career choices and personal preferences. Knowing one’s personality also aids in identifying one’s abilities to manage behavior, as well as their strengths and shortcomings. A person’s personality is made up of a variety of traits that together make up their unique character. These traits include a person’s inclination to introversion, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, or conscientiousness. These personality traits are expounded on by theorists such as Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, Carl Jung, and Myers Briggs. Sigmund Freud explained an individual’s personality through his psychoanalytic theory. Therefore, this paper will review the film ‘Silence of the Lambs, the behavior and personality of Hannibal Lecter, a protagonist in the film, and an analysis of Hannibal Lecter’s Personality using the Sigmund Freud theory.
An Overview of Silence of the Lambs
The Silence of the Lambs is an award-winning film based on the novel authored by Thomas Harris. The Silence of the Lambs is an American psychological thriller released in 1991(Bauer, 2020: p.1). The film starts when Clarice Starling is assigned to interview Doctor Hannibal Lecter. Clarice is an FBI trainee that seeks to advance her career while trying to put her West Virginia roots behavior. Clarice aspired to work in the agency’s Behavioral Science department under the leadership of Jack Crawford. Jack Crawford was eager to engage Clarice in the Buffalo Bill murder investigation since she was the leader in her class. The case involved a serial killer who had murdered five victims in Eastern America. The serial killer targeted young women who were slightly overweight, especially around their hips. The serial killer Jame Gumb would strip large swaths of skin and dump the corpse in large water bodies. Jame Gumb dumps the corpses to hide his DNA, making it hard for investigators to arrest him. Jack Crawford believed that to arrest Jame; he had to engage Doctor Hannibal Lecter, as he was a brilliant psychiatrist. To gain his insight, Jack Crawford sent Clarice, an attractive young woman, to bait him. After her interview, Clarice realized that Lecter interacted with people through psychological games, so she had to read his cryptic lines to understand him. The Buffalo Bill case intensifies when Senator Ruth’s daughter is abducted, making it a high-profile case. Clarice critically analyses Hannibal Lecter’s clues to identify the serial killer, thus saving the Senator’s daughter and closing the case.
Hannibal Lecter’s Behavior and Personality
Observing their behavior makes it possible to distinguish an individual’s personality. According to the Big Five concept, a person’s personality may be used to explain how they think, feel, and engage with others (Forrester et al., 2016: p.113). An introverted individual will be less likely to socialize than an extroverted one. Therefore, one must observe his behavior to understand Hannibal Lecter’s personality.
Hannibal Lecter is vital in Thomas Harris’ work as he portrays psychopathic tendencies in all his stories. Thomas Harris intentionally depicted the plight of psychologically unstable offenders in his work. Lecter’s character depicted psychopathic tendencies in the stories Red Dragon (1981), The Silence of the Lambs (1988), and Hannibal (1999). Hannibal Lecter was a serial killer who ate his victims. The psychopathic traits of Hannibal Lecter’s persona were manifested in his superficial charm, cunning, and lack of empathy for the victims when he murdered and later ate them (DeLisi et al., 2009: p.196). Hannibal is also deceitful, meticulous, selfish, arrogant, and intelligent. Lecter also disrespects the law, which is evident when he attacks and kills law enforcement agents. Without hesitation, Lecter disembowels one officer, who skins his face and later wears it to escape prison. Lecter then kills the other officer, bites off his face, and hangs him. Lecter shows his arrogance when conversing with others. Hannibal scares his victims and everyone around him with his antics and manipulation. Clarice hands a questionnaire to Hannibal in Silence of the Lambs in one scene. He says that the last time someone attempted to analyze him, he devoured them rather than filling them. Therefore, Hannibal is quite a manipulative character with psychopathic tendencies.
Lecter is a very brilliant person, and he exploits his superior intelligence to outwit law enforcement. Researchers propose that most psychopaths have a higher level of intelligence than morally upright people (DeLisi et al., 2009: p.169). Possessing superior intelligence than others facilitates psychopaths’ ability to manipulate others. Before meeting with Lecter, Clarice is warned about his manipulation by Jack Crawford. In their first meeting, Lecter uses his intelligence to study Clarice to have the upper hand during the conversation. Lecter intelligence is also depicted with he uses the hook of a lidded pen to unlock handcuffs during his escape. During his escape, Lecter redresses the police officer in his clothes to avoid detection. He skins off the officer’s face and later wears it to escape prison. Lecter’s intelligence is also depicted when he helps Clarice identify the Buffalo Bill serial killer and reasons why the murderer targets slightly overweight girls. Clarice discovered with Lester’s assistance that Jame was driven by his insecurities and the desire to have a female body. Through Lester’s clue, Clarice also realized she was looking for a skilled tailor. That clue helped her realize that Crawford’s intel was false. Lester also helps Clarice realize that she was unresolved issues from her past. Clarice was orphaned after the death of her father, and therefore she was forced to live with her aunt. As Lester questioned her about her departure, Clarice recognized that she had been troubled by the lamb’s “screams” during their killing. Clarice was left vulnerable after that conversation with Lester. Therefore, Lester was quite intelligent, and he would use his intellect to manipulate his surroundings.
An Analysis of Hannibal Lecter’s Behavior using Sigmund Freud’s Theory
The theorist Sigmund Freud accomplished a remarkable job of illuminating different personality types and their origins. Sigmund Freud was the founder of the psychoanalytic and psychosexual theories that explained an individual’s development and personality (Zhang, 2020: p.229). Freud examined his dreams to devise his psychoanalytic theory. Freud discovered through his dreams that a person’s impulses are a mental image of internal cues that motivate them to act. From his research, Freud realized that two instincts drive an individual: life and death. The life instinct primarily addresses the essential needs of survival, pleasure, and reproduction, whereas the death impulse pushes a person toward destruction.
To further expound on the psychoanalytic theory, Freud divided it into three stages: id, ego, and superego. Freud believed that the id, ego, and superego formed the basic structure of an individual’s personality (Zhang, 2020: p.229). Freud proposed that id forms the basic component of an individual’s primitive impulses. It is driven by the pleasure principle and an individual’s unconscious thoughts. Hence, the id is in charge of a person’s decision to participate in enjoyable or destructive activities, frequently at the expense of more beneficial ones. The ego is built on the reality principle, which encourages a person to put off satisfying their fundamental urges until the right moment. The ego largely influences one’s decision-making process and acts as an intermediary between the id and superego. One could feel the urge to steal money but afterward decide against it because of moral considerations. Lastly, the superego is a moral compass that prevents one from satisfying their ill desires. It represents the conscious mind that internalizes moral standards and ideals that one acquires from parents and society around an individual. The superego aims to refine and elevate our conduct. It fights to get the ego to behave according to idealistic norms rather than on fundamental principles, suppressing all undesirable id’s inclinations. Therefore, Freud helped explain an individual’s personality through the psychoanalytic theory.
It is essential to remember that the misalignment of Freud’s three personality components might result in psychiatric problems. Freud noted that due to the misalignment, the ego adapts various defense mechanisms to adapt to miscommunication (Zhang, 2020: p.229). These defense mechanisms often include displacement, projection, rationalization, reaction formation, regression, repression, and sublimation. It is quite evident that Hannibal Lecter’s personality structure was misaligned. Hannibal’s id was dominant and controlled his behavior. Lecter’s superego was underdeveloped, while his ego was distorted as he attempted to rationalize situations, but his mind failed to function normally. Lester’s dominating id is evident as he is quick to satisfy his need to deface the police’s face without hesitation. He is also quick to satisfy his anger urges when he hits an officer until he dies. Despite being very intelligent, Lester’s ego is distorted. Lester uses his intelligence to help Clarice solve the Buffalo Bill case. He does it more for the excitement than because it’s the correct thing to do. Lecter cannot be considered a morally upright individual. Instead of reassuring the Senator, he ridicules her parenting styles and breasts. Therefore, it is safe to conclude that Hannibal Lester’s psychiatric problems result from miscommunication among the id, ego, and superego. His id makes him impulsive; his confused ego makes him retreat from reality, while the underdeveloped superego distorts his morals.
People developed a defense mechanism to protect themselves from distorted emotions, thoughts, and impulses. Some defense mechanisms, such as self-control, are productive, while others, like repression, result in pushing their anxiety into the unconscious, which is not healthy. Freud suggests that when exposed to stressful conditions, a person develops a defensive mechanism to keep them from experiencing anxiousness (Waqas et al., 2015: p.1). Hannibal Lester was not new to these defense mechanisms. Hannibal Lester adopted denial as a coping mechanism. Denial is when an individual blocks unpleasant events from their awareness and refuses to experience them (Zhang, 2020: p.230). Despite his psychotic tendencies, Hannibal Lester unconsciously creates the perfect image of himself. Even in Baltimore State Forensic Hospital prison, Lester elegantly dressed in white, unlike all other prisoners who are dirty and in blue jumpsuits. His hair is also laid back neatly, and the room is well organized. The image depicts an approachable well-organized man, which is not the case, as many are afraid of him. In the first meeting, Clarice hesitates to approach his cell despite the dividing wall separating the two. Another sort of defense that Lester uses is sublimation. Sublimation is when one channels their unacceptable sexual or aggressive desires into acceptable activities. Lester seeks to satisfy his murderous desires by helping Clarice with the Buffalo Bill case. Hannibal is excited by the opportunity to analyze Jame’s psychotic tendencies and provide clues that will help solve the case and save the Senator’s daughter. Therefore, Hannibal Lester uses denial and sublimation to cope with his psychotic impulses.
In conclusion, one needs to understand their personality as it influences behavior. An individual’s personality also influences their preferences. The film ‘Silence of the Lambs’ based on Thomas Harris’s novel, vividly explains how unstable personalities influence criminal behavior. One character was Jame, the Buffalo Bill killer. Jame kidnapped slightly overweight girls, skinned them, stitched up their skin and later wore it as a jumpsuit to mimic the female. Another character the film featured was Hannibal Lester, who acted aggressively. He skinned off an officer’s face to escape prison and bit another to satisfy his aggression. Hannibal was a calm, intelligent, meticulous, manipulative, deceitful, and narcissistic man. He finds satisfaction in preying on an individual’s insecurities and fears. Hannibal Lester also seeks to manipulate his surroundings so they can have the upper hand. In the first meeting, Lester scares Clarice by stating that he ate the last person who interrogated him. Lester knows that Clarice needs him to solve the Buffalo case. Instead of providing simple evidence, Lester gives Clarice clues that are difficult to solve. Lester’s personality can easily be analyzed using Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. Based on the theory, one could argue that Lester has a dominating id that drives his impulses. He also has an underdeveloped superego and therefore lacks a moral standing on what might be right or wrong. People use defense mechanisms to control their psychotic impulses. In prison, Lester adopts denial and sublimation to control his aggression. An individual’s personality influences behavior; therefore, a distorted persona could affect their conduct.
References
Bauer, P. (2020). The Silence of the Lambs. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Silence-of-the-Lambs
DeLisi, M., Vaughn, M. G., Beaver, K. M., & Wright, J. P. (2009). The Hannibal Lecter Myth: Psychopathy and Verbal Intelligence in the Macarthur Violence Risk Assessment Study. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 32(2), 169–177. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-009-9147-z
Forrester, W. R., Tashchian, A., & Shore, T. H. (2016). Relationship between personality and behavioral intention in student teams. American Journal of Business Education (AJBE), 9(3), 113–118. https://doi.org/10.19030/ajbe.v9i3.9698
Waqas, A., Rehman, A., Malik, A., Muhammad, U., Khan, S., & Mahmood, N. (2015). Association of Ego Defense Mechanisms with Academic Performance, Anxiety and Depression in Medical Students: A Mixed Methods Study. Cureus, 7(9). https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.337
Zhang, S. (2020). Psychoanalysis: The influence of Freud’s theory in personality psychology. Proceedings of the International Conference on Mental Health and Humanities Education (ICMHHE 2020). https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.200425.051
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