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Academic Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences, 2024, 7(5); doi: 10.25236/AJHSS.2024.070540.

Physical battlefield: Body, power, and resistance in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Author(s)

Li Sitong

Corresponding Author:
Li Sitong
Affiliation(s)

School of English, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China, 999077

Abstract

The crime novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Swedish author Stieg Larsson follows journalist Blomkvist’s investigation into the disappearance of a teenage girl in the Vanger family, and tells the story of his collaboration with a marginal character, hacker Lisbeth Salander, to investigate serial killings. It deeply presents the multiple physical and psychological abuse suffered by women in Swedish society and their efforts to resist. The novel expresses its concern for the fate of women by focusing on the details of the characters’ bodies. The characters’ resistance to the patriarchal society serves as a call for women to fight for their physical rights, and also explores the body as a place to fight against oppression and gain power. At the same time, the novel draws the reader’s attention to the limitations of the characters’ resistance, connecting the victims in the story to the reality of women’s situations in reality.

Keywords

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; body; resistance; power

Cite This Paper

Li Sitong. Physical battlefield: Body, power, and resistance in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Academic Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences (2024) Vol. 7, Issue 5: 248-251. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJHSS.2024.070540.

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