The Silence Of The Lambs

The moth symbol has two differing meanings depending on the perspective of the character. For Clarice, moths represent destruction, fear, and Buffalo Bill’s violence. The Death’s-Head Moth has “struck fear in men for as long as men have come upon it suddenly in their happy gardens” because of the skull pattern on its wings and its ability to stab humans (261). In folk superstitions, the Death’s-Head is an omen of evil, and the Black Witch Moth is associated with death. Clarice identifies Gumb when the Death’s-Head Moth crawls up his back. The moth settling on the killer’s heart symbolizes their deep connection. Like the moth feasts on tears, Clarice understands Buffalo Bill as feeding on the tears of his victims.

Alternatively, Gumb views the moth as a symbol of beauty and of transformation into a truer form. Moths must create a chrysalis before turning into a mature winged insect. Gumb sees his project as Buffalo Bill—creating a new body from his victims’ skin—as a similar kind of chrysalis. Gumb envies the moth’s easy transformation, evident in his final words before dying: “How…does…it feel…to be…so beautiful?” (348). The mature moth is called an imago, which is also a psychoanalytic term for the repressed image of one’s parents. Rather than desiring to be a woman, Gumb specifically wants to transform into the image of his mother that he creates in his mind through the VHS recordings. For Gumb, the moth’s transformation from pupa to imago directly mimics his proposed transformation from his current body to his constructed body.

Gumb’s use of night vision goggles represents his predatory nature and emphasizes the sinister enjoyment he finds in stalking his victims. Gumb uses the night vision goggles when he “hunted young women through the blacked-out basement […] watching them feel their way around” (302). While wearing the apparatus, Gumb “could stand in absolute darkness […], wait until they took their hands down from their faces, and shoot them right in the head” (302). The goggles symbolize the power he holds over them and the pleasure he takes in stripping them of mobility. When Clarice has defenses at her disposal—like her gun and training—the goggles lose their power and expose the performativity of Gumb’s control.

The night vision goggles also connect Gumb to his moths and deepen his feelings of affinity for the insects. As night creatures, moths see in the dark, and Gumb’s goggles mimic this characteristic. Gumb likes to “sit in one or another of his many rooms without turning on the light” to forge this connection to the moths (137). With the goggles on, only Gumb can see the moths; this represents his unique perception of the creatures and the significance they hold for his project. While he dies, Clarice cannot see the moth that is “only visible to Mr. Gumb” as it descends upon his head, which further highlights their difference in perspective (348).

In the Baltimore State Hospital, Lecter receives a heightened level of restraints and isolation. The hyperbolic restraints represent the immense threat Lecter poses to those around him, regardless of the apparent respect he receives from scientific communities. The restraints—a straitjacket and hockey mask, all tied to an upright mover’s cart—are the consequence of Lecter disfiguring a nurse’s face. The event and restraints expose the contrast between Lecter’s poised exterior and his vicious internal desires.

The restraints also represent Chilton’s supposed mastery of Lecter and his desire to place Lecter in a state of indignity. When Chilton removes Lecter’s mask with a flourish in front of the Senator, he believes he demonstrates his control. The Senator, however, finds the action foolish. Lecter eventually manipulates the officers Pembry and Boyle into leaving his full restraints off, which results in his escape and his murdering of the officers. This action justifies Chilton’s fears of Lecter, exposing the necessity of the restraints for holding back Lecter’s bloodlust. When Lecter roams freely after his escape, Chilton fears for his life and demands to be put into witness protection, as there is nothing to hold Lecter back from coming after him.