The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Mikael Blomkvist is a respected financial reporter and part owner of the political magazine, Millennium. Like Salander, he is an investigator devoted to exposing corruption, but his perspective differs starkly from hers. Ever virtuous, Blomkvist believes in an ideal form of morality and abides by clear definitions where truth is right and lies are wrong. To him, detecting fraud and corruption is “as plain as morality. The equation [is] simple” (70). After a corrupt billionaire wins a libel suit against him, Blomkvist struggles with his public defeat and damaged credibility. To recover his reputation, he accepts a murder investigation and meets Salander; both experiences force him to reevaluate his code of ethics.

At the end of the novel, Blomkvist struggles with the guilt of covering up the Vanger crimes in order to protect Harriet, but he also relishes defeating Wennerström through the less-than-ethical means of Salander’s hacking. Salander, on the other hand, does not share his moral quandary about either decision. She considers Blomkvist “unbearably naïve with regard to certain elementary moral issues” (607). To her, his idealism ignores the reality that justice and the power of the truth are tenuous concepts that are neither universally applied nor guaranteed. To Blomkvist, he is no better than his enemies if he does not hold himself up to a higher moral standard.

Henrik Vanger is the 82-year-old retired industrialist who seeks Blomkvist’s aid in solving Harriet’s disappearance. He functions as a morally ambiguous character and highlights the ethical compromises in the novel. As an elderly man haunted by Harriet’s memory, he appears sympathetic, and his indignation about the racists in his family assures Blomkvist that he is one of the better members of the line.

However, Vanger’s appearances do not completely sway Blomkvist. Blomkvist recognizes the “practiced manipulator” behind the “mask of the good-natured patriarch” (91). Vanger holds little objection towards his family making part of their fortune by colluding with the Nazi government. He also uses his wealth with arrogance, offering to “buy a year of [Blomkvist’s] life” (127) replete with tax-evasion options. Knowing that Blomkvist may be immune to monetary bribes, he dupes him with a false promise of substantial evidence against Wennerström. Even Vanger’s partnership at Millennium is disguised as altruism; the magazine is struggling, and he and Blomkvist know that his money in the media can be used as leverage. Blomkvist’s interactions with Vanger elicit the theme of ethical compromises and emphasize Blomkvist’s precarious footing in his moral idealism.

Holger Palmgren is Salander’s compassionate guardian, and through his advocacy, she escapes the state’s recommendation of compulsory institutionalization. Palmgren represents the ways that social welfare programs can and should work. He believes it is neither his nor society’s business how Salander dresses or socializes, showing his awareness that in cases of violence against women, blame is often cast on women’s behavior rather than the perpetrator’s. He respects Salander’s agency, and his only condition in serving as her guardian is that she willingly agrees to the arrangement. His deference to Salander surprises even her, as “[u]ntil now no-one had asked for her opinion” (177). As her guardian, Palmgren helps her find housing and takes no control over her finances. He also convinces Armansky to hire her. Palmgren is one of the few people with whom Salander feels both “trust” and “warmth” (173).

Though Blomkvist never meets Palmgren, he also functions as a foil to the financial reporters whom Blomkvist finds insipid. During Salander’s hearing, Palmgren delivers a “powerful appeal” and is described as “brilliant during the two hours in which he cross-examined the physician” (176). In contrast, Blomkvist describes his fellow journalists as “incompetent lackeys…who had no record of thinking critically” (110). Palmgren is an emblem of the compassion and intelligence that both Salander and Blomkvist esteem in an individual.

Dragan Armansky is the CEO of Milton Security and Salander’s supportive employer. He represents the theme of overcoming prejudice as he realizes his biases and revises his impressions of Salander. Initially, Armansky judges her tattoos, piercings, and overall appearance and attitude as signs that she is unreliable and unintelligent. He regrets hiring her, but she quickly proves to be the best investigator in his firm. Armansky feels “bewildered and also angry with himself for having so obviously misjudged her” (44). He chastises himself for his prejudice, as he, too, is no stranger to being stereotyped. As the son of an Armenian Jew and a Bosnian-Greek Muslim, Armansky is often called “The Arab” (35) by others despite not being of Arab descent; he is simply “lumped together” in the media’s homogenous designation of “Muslims” (35). Armansky accepts Salander for who she is and merely registers a sigh when her style of dress clashes with his firm’s conservative image.

Armansky develops an attraction to Salander, and her handling of his inappropriate behavior demonstrates how she is both composed and direct, not the “dangerously violent” (173) person that her psychiatric records claim. After he drunkenly hugs her at a Christmas party, Salander confronts him and tells him firmly that she only wants a professional relationship. She tells him she is grateful that he has overcome his prejudices and has given her an opportunity to succeed at the company. Though Armansky sees himself as a paternal, instructive figure, Salander reverses the roles and is the one to teach him how to respect her boundaries. 

Like Armansky, Dirch Frode is an older man who overcomes his prejudice against Salander. Frode is Vanger’s lawyer and is in his late sixties. During their initial meeting, he is “conservatively dressed” (51) while she dons a T-shirt of “E.T. with fangs” (51). Frode awkwardly stares at her, and the imagery of their meeting invokes both humor and the clash between the traditional and the iconoclastic. Like Armansky, he initially doubts her skills but is quickly impressed with her research. Frode demonstrates his high opinion of Salander when he recommends and hires her as Blomkvist’s assistant. He also apologizes to Salander when they meet again in Hedeby for his unfair assumptions about her. In a parallel to Frode’s misjudgment of Salander, the novel plays with the stereotype of the old lawyer with the “bristly white hair and thick glasses” (83), as he turns out to be more open-minded than he appears. Blomkvist is also surprised by Frode’s genuine apology and notes that “the lawyer climbed a few notches in [his] eyes” (466).

Another similarity Frode shares with Armansky is the role reversal he experiences with Salander. In the aftermath of Martin’s death, Frode is distraught and racked with indecision when Salander warns him not to involve her with the police. She tells him to think over whether he should reveal Martin’s crimes, and then instructs him to handle his affairs at the corporation and call a board meeting. Frode implicitly obeys and realizes that “here he was, taking orders from a child. She had somehow seized control of the situation and given him the guidelines that he himself was unable to formulate” (511). Salander is composed and focused, and the scene provides another instance of an older, male figure of authority paying deference to her.

Erika Berger is the co-owner and editor-in-chief of Millennium, and she competently takes charge of the magazine during Blomkvist’s absence. As a prominent figure in publication, Berger represents the importance of balanced coverage and unbiased representations of women in the media. She acknowledges the sexism in her profession where critics call her “an incompetent bimbo” (170) or a “harmless bimbo” (135) who poses no threat. Blomkvist also notes how William Borg, a petty journalist, has a reputation for putting down older female reporters. After Blomkvist begins his leave of absence, Berger increases Millennium’s coverage of women’s issues and hires a woman as the new managing editor, thereby promoting change in the magazine’s content and challenging the “glass ceiling” of the predominantly male profession.

Berger also lives an unconventional personal life with her husband who accepts Blomkvist as her lover. In her report on Blomkvist, Salander omits details of Berger’s sex life, including her past experiences at sex clubs and interest in BDSM. Salander tells Blomkvist, “What you do in bed is nobody’s business” (376), and the scene emphasizes how women’s sexuality and non-heteronormative practices are often fodder for salacious news or blackmail. As an independent, intelligent, and powerful character, Berger challenges the stigma of non-conforming sexuality.

Cecilia Vanger is Harriet’s aunt and one of the few family members that Vanger respects. Direct and quick-witted, she immediately discerns that Blomkvist’s real purpose in Hedeby is to solve Harriet’s disappearance. Cecilia is separated from her husband who physically abused her, and she is also estranged from her father, Harald Vanger, a toxic antisemite who, along with her brother Birger, blames her for her marriage’s failure. Cecilia’s experiences bring attention to the prevalence of domestic violence and family abuse, and her background parallels both Harriet’s and Salander’s experiences with violence.

Like Salander, Cecilia is also wary of being vulnerable and avoids intimate relationships. Cecilia begins a casual affair with Blomkvist, but when she falls in love with him she withdraws to avoid getting hurt. However, she decides to set caution aside when he returns from prison and resumes their relationship. She explores the option of accepting Berger as his lover, but in the end, Cecilia chooses to stop seeing Blomkvist. Salander’s relationship with Blomkvist follows a similar pattern, in which they begin sleeping together casually and Salander falls in love. Berger’s presence prevents their relationship from going any further as well. One interpretation implies that in rejecting Blomkvist, Cecilia and Salander have closed off their feelings and reverted to a life of reclusion. Another interpretation suggests that both women assessed that Blomkvist could not offer the commitment they want, so they end their relationships with him, honoring their boundaries and desires. 

Nils Bjurman is Salander’s appointed guardian after Holger Palmgren has a stroke. Salander notices the magazines in his office reveal his “interests were hunting and shooting” (179), and the reference foreshadows his predatory methods of assaulting women who have the least power. Bjurman exploits his position of authority and threatens Salander with institutionalization if she resists his continual rapes. He manipulates the guardianship system to sanction his brutality over Salander and gloats that her “legally incompetent” status gives him full control over her finances and her credibility. Bjurman’s assaults are part of the systemic violence against women, where medical and legal authorities participate in stripping Salander of her agency. Failed by the institutions designed to protect her, Salander uses violence against Bjurman to ensure her rights and safety.

Martin Vanger is Harriet’s brother and CEO of Vanger Corporation. Behind the façade of his friendly demeanor and sophisticated home, Martin is a serial killer who has been kidnapping and torturing women for decades. Martin represents the grotesque degree to which wealth can mask corruption: His torture chamber is custom designed, and he disposes of the bodies at sea using his yacht. Like Bjurman, his crimes are systematic, and he chooses women who are vulnerable and least protected by social institutions. Martin keeps a “death book” (506) to catalog his victims, and the orderly records of his crimes and years of impunity reference the bureaucratic and institutional indifference to violence against women.