The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Salander researches Bjurman’s life and is unable to uncover any evidence of past abuse or incriminating behavior. He appears to be a model citizen—a respected lawyer who overpays his taxes and donates to charities. She then spends a week planning his murder but realizes that, even if she kills him, she would still be under the control of the next guardian.

Salander devises a plan to document his next assault with a hidden camera. The evidence would allow her to control Bjurman but requires her to risk another meeting with him. When Salander contacts him, he requests to hold the next meeting at his home. She is afraid and hesitates, but agrees to the new location. At his home, Salander’s plan does not go as expected as Bjurman uses restraints to torture and rape her. He does not release her until the next morning and tells her he expects her next week.

In Hedeby, Blomkvist continues his affair with Cecilia and they both agree to keep their encounters private. Blomkvist becomes curious about Cecilia’s failed marriage and Vanger tells him that her husband abused her. Though Cecilia is officially not divorced, she has not seen her husband in decades. Vanger tells him that Cecilia is trustworthy and “one of the good people” (264) and not involved in Harriet’s disappearance.

Blomkvist establishes a comfortable routine in Hedeby. He makes progress on Vanger’s autobiography but is no closer to solving Harriet’s case. He returns to the mystery of the names and phone numbers in Harriet’s diary, but neither he nor Vanger has any idea how to decipher them.

Salander returns to her apartment and treats her injuries, aware that Bjurman’s assaults are exacting in their brutality. She researches sadism and understands that Bjurman, believing her to have an intellectual disability, had chosen her as an easy target to abuse. The following week, she gets a tattoo of a band around her ankle as a reminder of his attack.

At her next meeting with Bjurman, Salander leads him to his bedroom where she tases and restrains him. She penetrates him with an anal plug and tells him she will publicize the footage of his assault on her if he does not agree to her terms. He is to give her full control of her finances and write positive reports to build a case for her release from the state’s guardianship. She will also have keys to his office and home, and he is never to be with a woman again. Salander warns that if he attempts to have her killed, the video will automatically go public. She tattoos on his torso: “I AM A SADISTIC PIG, A PERVERT, AND A RAPIST” (287).

Cecilia begins to develop romantic feelings for Blomkvist and recalls her violent marriage and traumatic childhood with mixed feelings of shame and anger. Her husband was a domestic abuser and her father, Harald, and brother, Birger, blamed her for the failed marriage. She remembers how, during a hunting trip, she had wanted to fire a shotgun at Harald and Birger after their insults but abandoned them in the woods instead. She never forgave Harald for ruining her childhood and life and has not spoken to him in 20 years.

Blomkvist leaves Hedeby to begin his 90 days at Rullåker Prison. The Millennium team coordinates his first day in prison with the announcement of Henrik Vanger’s part-ownership of the magazine and Blomkvist’s future return as CEO and publisher. Berger and Vanger give television interviews and suggest that the Wennerström affair is not over. Vanger presents himself as a magnate protecting the small, independent press, and Berger argues that Vanger’s presence on their board presents no conflict of interest. Privately, both Berger and Blomkvist believe that the partnership has compromised their impartiality and code of ethics.

Salander is in Armansky’s office when she hears about Millennium’s new changes on the radio. She quickly connects Frode with Vanger and learns of Wennerström’s former employment at Vanger Corporation. When Armansky informs her that he has no new assignments, she resumes her own independent investigation on Blomkvist.