Frisk, Fermats Thereom, No Hornets
Does anyone know what Frisk’s secret investigation was about? And why the hell was Fermats Thereom such a big part of ‘The Girl Who Played With Fire’ when the subject was dismissed in ‘Hornet’s Nest’ by Salander simply losing interest. And finally, why was there no hornet’s nest? There was a dragon tattoo in the first book, fire in the second book, but no mention of a single hornet in the third.
Posted by , 3 April 2011
7 comments on “Frisk, Fermats Thereom, No Hornets”
The hornet’s nest refers to the web of lies built by corrupt elements within SaPo to conceal Zala’s real identity and silence those who knew the truth and wanted to expose it.
Yes, they’re play-on words. She did literally play with fire and she DID have a dragon tattoo. Hornets are big wasps. It is a metaphor. If you kick a nest full of calm wasps that can reach 5.5cm in length, they will get damn angry. Just like with Zala and Sapo, for years Lisbeth was under control and safely away in an asylum and the conspiracy against her from when she was younger was safely tucked away and dead and buried. All was calm…then she went and literally ‘kicked’ the hornets’ nest, digging up old dirt and buried secrets; thus making a lot of people angry and against her.
Posted by Kit in Yorkshire, UK ,
Fermat’s Theorem plays a vital role in several aspects:
1. was to develop the reader’s perception of Salander’s intellectual, intuitive, and analytical capabilities – far exceeding the average or even above average individual. This also shows how little (or not at all) Salander has to rely on external resources to help her grasp concepts from beginning to end.
2. Also, I believe this was included to help the reader/audience to understand the severity of the type injury to Salander sustained, but is also likely foreshadowing for future stories.
The doctor states that the area of injury conducts mathematical (analytical) reasoning and he says that type of analytical brain function is not critical (for most people), so it should not impair her daily abilities. However, what the doctor does not know is that Salander greatly uses this part of her brain for daily activities.
Even Salander (for once) forgets she already solved Fermat’s theorem, how Fermat would have presented the proof without computer assistance. This, I believe, was the section of foreshadowing.
Posted by Teresa in Cool ,
Perhaps the hornets nest is Salander (Wasp) and her friends when they are roused into action when Salander advises of her situation.
Posted by Moi in Brisbane ,
I think the Fermat’s Theorem was included to show how exceedingly intelligent Lisbeth is and how everyone has underestimated her. Aspberger’s Syndrome is often associated with genius IQ.
Posted by Kris in Smalltown Texas USA ,
I wonder how Andrew Wiles would react to the depiction of someone figuring out Fermat’s theorum in their heads when it took him 7 YEARS FULL TIME to do it! I think he’d be pretty insulted at the lack of research on Larsson’s part. Awful books!
Posted by cm ,
CM, the difference is that Wiles’ solution was not the same as Salander’s. Lisbeth supposedly discovered the solution that Fermat had alluded to in his own writings. I would also hope that Wiles lived by the same philosophy that I do, and that is that there is always someone out there smarter than I am, no matter how brilliant I might think I am.
Posted by rickbull in Nashville ,