Is Lisbeth Salander, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," Autistic?

Enter the Goth girl: towering black Mohawk hairdo, multiple piercings, silver claw-like metal collar necklace, Frankenstein boots, ripped black clothing. This is "Lisbeth Salander" (Noomi Rapace) entering the courtroom in film three to defend herself against triple murder charges.

Lisbeth is defiant, unsmiling, surly and silent until (almost) the end. When Prosecutor Ekstrom (Niklas Hjulstram) tries to introduce himself to his adversary during pre-trial interviews, Lisbeth completely ignores him, sitting quietly staring off into space, barely acknowledging his presence in the room.

This is "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo:" Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace), the heroine of all three of Stieg Larsson's books comprising the Millennium Trilogy ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," "The Girl Who Played with Fire," "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest").

She's one of the most fascinating feminist film heroines in decades.

Is Lisbeth Salander Autistic? Could that be why she is the way she is?

Her mistreatment by the system may have contributed, but another theory is supported by Larsson's co-worker who said Stieg Larsson planned to use ailments of this sort to flesh out his characters. The plan emerged from a discussion of Pippi Longstocking from Astrid Lindgren's book. "What would Pippi be like if she were trying to fit in as an adult? (ADD and difficulty fitting in, said Larsson). Larsson decided to work with a similar ailment in his Millennium trilogy. I think Larsson's choice of what I believe to be Asperger's Syndrome to flesh out and explain Lisbeth Salander in the books really does make her a heroine for our age.

Lisbeth presents like a victim of Asperger's Syndrome, a high-functioning form of the disease. Approximately 1 in 110 children or adults may suffer from one of the spectrum of autism disorders, according to experts' most recent estimates.

Her obsessive behavior? Punishing those who attempt to harm her or harm those she cares about.

Her unusual talents (which Asperger's patients often have, a la "Rainman")? A photographic memory, brilliant computer-hacker skills and great agility. She is also a social isolate.

Making small talk, saying thank you, checking in on your friends and family and keeping in touch with others in general. Not so much.

As defined by Yale Associate Professor of Child Psychiatry and PhD in charge of the Yale Child Study Center, Dr. Ami Klin, a world-renowned authority, in his book Asperger's Syndrome, victims of this disorder suffer from what he dubbed Theory of Mind.

Theory of Mind posits that Asperger's patients "do not understand that other people have different viewpoints, ideas, plans, or thoughts. They have great difficulty understanding the beliefs, attitudes and emotions of others. They find it very difficult to empathize." An Asperger child or adult will assume that what they are feeling you, also, must feel. They come off as arrogant, self-centered, or indifferent.

In an essay by Laura Vasilion in "Films for Two," her essay calls attention to one of her favorite scenes from the third film: "In one graceful scene, Salander sits on the windowsill of her dark, virtually empty apartment and looks out into the blue winter twilight of Stockholm. Her isolation and loneliness is thereby evoked by the film's director without a word of dialogue." Salander doesn't even unpack at her apartment, has little or no furniture, and leaves no forwarding address for friends.

Lisbeth gives away her first apartment to lesbian friend Miriam Wu (Yasmine Garbi) with no warning that the bad guys may come calling (and with Miriam rebuking her for not keeping in touch.) Salander is similarly rebuked in film one for not even knowing whether her first guardian is dead or alive and never keeping up with her friends.

If the parallel hasn't been drawn clearly enough, let's consider some moments in the films when Lisbeth presents as suffering from the disorder. Vasilion has described it this way in her "Films for Two" essay, naming a favorite scene between Lisbeth and her doctor in the third film (played by actor Aksel Morise), Dr. Anders Jonasson: "At one point during a very one-sided conversation, Dr. Jonasson looks at Lisbeth and says, '˜You are the most interesting patient I have ever had.' For a brief moment there is the beginning of a smile on Salander's face. It is the most restrained smile I have ever seen on screen. I will never forget it." There is also the small smile that crosses Lisbeth's face in the hospital when she learns that her father is dead.

Lisbeth's First Entrance: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"

In the first film, when Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyquest) is hired to investigate Harriet Vanger's disappearance from Hedeby Island 40 years prior by Henrik Vanger, her Uncle, Mikael realizes he needs expert investigative help. Milton Security's Dragan Armaskij (Michalis Koulsogiannakis) sends over his best researcher, the eccentric computer-hacker, Lisbeth Salander.

Thus begins the saga, which will see a certain distance come between Mikael and Lisbeth in the second film, "The Girl Who Played with Fire," but one that Lisbeth monitors by hacking into Mikael's computer to learn that two journalists are working on a story for "Millennium" on sex-trafficking in Sweden. Lisbeth is subsequently framed for the journalists' murders.

Film three opens with Lisbeth hospitalized after tracking down her father Alexander Zalachenko (Georgi Staykov) and half-brother, Ronald Niedermann (Micke Spreitz). Niedermann shoots her and buries her alive. She needn't have put herself in harm's way, save for the O/C elements of her disorder. Lisbeth is in the hospital recuperating and awaiting trial for the triple murder she didn't commit, with the prosecution bound and determined to commit her to an asylum for life.

As Laura Vasilion in her essay ("Films for Two") described Lisbeth's first appearance in film one on Hedeby Island to help Mikael Blomkvist, " Never cracking a smile, barely speaking, she moves in with Blomkvist and gets to work." More autistic symptoms.

The theory that Lisbeth is a victim of Asperger's Syndrome has much to recommend it. Lisbeth's particular talents (computer hacking; agility; a photographic memory) further support the "Rainman" theory. Lisbeth may have only a touch of the disorder, but it goes a long way towards explaining---and perhaps excusing-- her behavior, her mannerisms, and her actions in the Millennium Trilogy Obsessively, Lisbeth will track down her father and half-brother and other evil-doers seeking revenge, punishing them using her own "Dexter"-like code to differentiate the bad guys from the good guys..

As a Charles Bronson-like "Deathwish" avenging angel, Lisbeth is not always the victim. Sometimes, she is the one saving others, which she tries to do in the second film by torching her own father in defense of her mother. That act gets her sent to St. Stefan's Psychiatric Hospital in Uppsala and subjected to cruelty by the evil Dr. Peter Teleborian (Anders Ahlbam Rosendahl). On the non-victim side, when the first film ends, the 5 foot tall, 88 pound Salander has saved Blomkvist's life by wielding a golf club to drive off serial killer Martin Vanger (Peter Haber).

Later, Mikael will return the favor in film three and save Lisbeth in a court of law, even convincing his attorney sister, Annika Giannini (Annika Hallen) to serve as her defense counsel. Teleborian is the evil pedophile who placed Lisbeth in restraints for 381 days during her incarceration at St. Stefan's Psychiatric Hospital. He will get what he deserves as a result of the justice system (while the secret Section evil-doers are simultaneously shown getting theirs.)

Empathy, Obsession, Communication: Traits of Asperger Patients

Estimates suggest that Asperger's Syndrome may afflict from 0.024% to 0.35% of children in the world. One out of 110 across the entire range of autistic disorders is a guesstimate. Asperger's Syndrome sufferers are less common in the population and more gifted, despite their affliction.

The abuse by Lisbeth's father, her second guardian, her psychiatrist and the entire Swedish social system did shape Lisbeth's personality, but the underlying cause for her anti-social behavior, an accident of birth that she cannot control and is not responsible for, may be Asperger's Syndrome. Lisbeth demonstrates nearly all aspects of the disease in mild form. When, after Martin's attack on Mikael, she crouches near Martin on the pavement where his car has crashed and watches him burn to death, ignoring his plea of "Help me," we see her lack of empathy, a common trait of Asperger's sufferers.

Mikael says, "I could never have done that, but I understand why you did it."

Empathy is difficult for Asperger's victims.Yale Dr. Ami Klin, associate professor of child psychology and head of the Yale Child Study Center has put forth a Theory of Mind concept that says Asperger's patients do not understand that other people have different viewpoints, ideas, plans or thoughts. They have great difficulty with the beliefs, attitudes and emotions of others and find it very difficult or impossible to empathize.

Social communication is also difficult for such victims. Lisabeth's not much on "thank you," as we see in a scene with her defense attorney after the trial. Small talk is not for her, not even when in bed with Mikael Blomkvist. Nor is keeping up with her sometimes lesbian girlfriend "Miriam Wu" (Yasmin Garbi), to Yasmin's dismay (Yasmin gifts her with a small cigarette case that is a lifesaver at a later point in the film, saying it is from "a few Christmases back"; Lisbeth has no such gift for Miriam.) Nor has Lisbeth kept up faithfully with her first guardian, Holger Palmgren (Per Oscarsson), friends like Paolo Roberto (the real-life Swedish pugilist) or even her mother in the nursing home (Noome Rapaci's real-life mother).

If the parallel hasn't been drawn clearly enough, let's think of some moments in the films when Lisbeth presents as (potentially) suffering from Asperberger's. Vasilion has described one scene this way, an encounter between Dr. Anders Jonasson (Aksel Morise) and Lisbeth: "At one point during a very one-sided conversation, Dr. Jonasson looks at Lisbeth and says, '˜You are the most interesting patient I have ever had.' For a brief moment there is the beginning of a smile on Salander's face. It is the most restrained smile I have ever seen on screen. I will never forget it."

Crime and Punishment

As a Charles Bronson-like "Deathwish" avenger, Lisbeth is not always the victim. Sometimes, she is the one saving others, which she tried to do in the second film as a girl of ten by torching her own father in defense of her mother. By the time the first film ends, the 5 foot tall, 88 pound Salander has saved Blomkvist's life by wielding a golf club to drive off serial killer Martin Vanger (Peter Haber). She comes across, somewhat obsessively, as an angel of vengeance. Lisbeth will track down her father and half-brother seeking vengeance in film three and she will pay the price.

Mikael Blomkvisst returns the favor and saves Lisbeth in a court of law in the final film, using "Millennium" as the vehicle to tell her story.

When Lisbeth returns to Blomkvist following after Martin Vanger's car crash, he asks, "Could you have saved him?"

Lisbeth answers, "Yes."

"But you just watched him burn?" asks Blomkvist.

"Yeah," Lisbeth says, with a detached enigmatic expression.

She has the look of a person for whom empathy is foreign ground.

Punishing the bad guys is Lisbeth's mission in life. That qualifies as an obsession. While not an excuse, it might be considered a defense for Lisbeth's vigilantism. Martin Vanger, serial killer of women, was one of the bad guys, as was her corrupt second guardian Nils Bjurman (Peter Andersson), who repeatedly raped Lisbeth and is punished with a crude tattoo. Lisbeth's father and half-brother deserve and receive punishment.

Lisbeth is all about punishing the bad guys. She says of Martin Vanger, "It's fair he got killed -- He was an evil motherfucker who hated women." In film three, she says to Niedermann, "You deserve to die, you fucking freak." The story of Stieg Larsson's witnessing of a rape of a girl named Lisbeth as a young boy, and his failure to stop the violence, helps explain the recurring themes of misogyny and violence against women. Penance, perhaps?

Lisbeth had expressed herself forcefully to Blomkvist about Martin Vanger's actions as a serial murderer of women, maintaining that people do have choices in life. Just because you are abused as a child doesn't mean you have to embrace that choice, after reaching adulthood (In the first book, when Mikael Blomkvist tries to explain that Martin Vanger became a serial killer of women only because his father trained him, in childhood, to become one, Lisbeth responds, "Bullshit!")

Lisbeth will prove this ability to choose a new path in life true for herself by the end of the Millennium Trilogy, as she begins to try to learn to behave like other people behave. By film's end, we'll see evidence that Lisbeth is making small steps towards assimilating, such as in the scene when Mikael comes to her apartment door and they chat like "normal" people ("Thanks/See you Around").

It may seem an anti-climactic ending, but, for Lisbeth, it's a good start toward becoming normal..