Clarice Starling has got to be THE best Final Girl (change my mind)!
The matter of her being a woman is pivotal to the story, and yet never cliche. She's scrappy "white trash" and that makes her journey in the FBI all the more compelling. Men leer, they tower over her, and her reaction is akin to that of most women’s: to bite her tongue and act like nothing’s happening; even though, the disrespect is palpable. The only time she ever mentions it is during the drive back from West Virginia, to her boss, whom she at least has a good rapport. And the way she talks about it isn’t dramatic; she just tells him a fact:
"It matters, Mr. Crawford. Cops look to you to see how to act. It matters.”
Her assignment to speak with Lecter is even based on her being a woman — perhaps she’ll stir something in the man, what with him not having seen one for years.
I can’t speak on Hannibal’s thought process. Hell, even the author, Thomas Harris, narrates him like a mere witness. Which makes sense, given his previous career as a journalist. It’s fascinating, really, because in (rare) interviews, he describes it more as a “passive process,” wherein the scenes just play out. He doesn’t make anything up. It happens, unfolds in front of him.
And it’s quite beautiful, how protective Harris is of Starling. I notice that there are often female characters in his novels that you can’t help but feel protective of, and the rest of the characters seem to agree. In Red Dragon (2002), Reba inherently does need help. She’s blind. But again, she’s capable, and can hold her own even in the final act when Dolarhyde abandons her in the most horrifying situation possible. Hannibal even had a sister, whose gruesome end began his penchant for cannibalism.
In Silence of the Lambs, it is of course, our darling Clarice.
She is not a strong female character. She is a strong character, period. I love her. Hannibal would not have been nearly as fascinating without her to have a back-and-forth with. What makes her more endearing is her sheer sincerity: she never lies to Lecter, but she can go toe-to-toe with him — certainly, she is not nearly as refined as him, but her tenacity and hard-earned skills from F.B.I. training make her formidable.
I’m not quite sure where I’d read it, but one of the most compelling theories I saw as to why Hannibal was so captivated by her was because she let him practice his profession. The hurdle of being incarcerated does make it hard to do any sort of psychiatry. I digress. She answered his questions but she shot her own right back; she made her own guesses, poked and prodded just as he would; pressed no matter how unnerving the man was.
I guess, in a sense, I aspire to be like her. Scrappy with a little taste, smart in the way it matters. I love you, Clarice Starling!