Clarice Starling FBI Agent and ass kicker – Honorary Oakley

Don’t you hate it when you’ve worked your ass off on something only for Dreamweaver to inexplicably quit before you’ve had the chance to save? Ahh well these are the breaks, so if this sounds like regurgitated drivel, then you’ll know why, because it is, because unlike home made soup, these things are never quite as good the second time around.

It’s time to look at another Honorary Oakley. At time of writing it is the month of November 2005 and we’re going to look at the character of Clarice Starling, FBI Agent in the Thomas Harris novels and movies based on them. Clarice has all the intricacies we look for here in the Oakley’s, she’s tough, but sensitive, she’s courageous, yet scared. Clarice is full of dichotomy, but remains a very cool female character. That’s why she’s our Honorary Oakley this time around.

Oh and it’s worth noting that, in some strange twist of fate, early in this book Clarice Starling’s coworkers have named her “Annie Oakley” for her shooting prowess… Jung at work.

Thanks to Thumb Bandits forum member Derek for this suggestion.

Clarice Starling: A Quick Bio.

Name: Clarice M Starling
Age: Mid 20′s
Born: West Virginia
Parents: Father shot and killed / Fostered / Orphanage
Profession: FBI Agent and Behavioral Scientist

Hello Clarice…
Clarice Starling is the young FBI agent who is assigned to help find a missing woman and save her from a psychopathic serial killer who skins his victims. Clarice attempts to gain a better insight into the twisted mind of the killer by talking to another psychopath Hannibal Lecter, who used to be a respected psychiatrist. FBI agent Jack Crawford believes that Lecter who is also a very powerful and clever mind manipulator has the answers to their questions and that this will help locate the killer. Clarice must first try and gain Lecter’s confidence before he is to give away any information.

That’s essentially the movie synopsis (imdb) and it touches on the character of Clarice without giving too much away. She’s young and thrown in at the deep end, two things to keep in mind as the story progresses. Despite these factors she eventually wins out.

He wants to eat your liver…
One of the things that makes the character of Clarice so interesting is her trepidation when she’s sent to interview Dr Lecter. The relationship that evolves from their meeting is both disturbing and visceral in nature. The character of Clarice is flawed, like so many of the great movie characters and it is these flaws that lend the character to the audience in a more sympathetic manner. The fact she overcomes her weaknesses and wins out by sheer determination and strength of character make her an endearing and positive female protagonist.

Always wait for backup….
Another thing that makes the character of Clarice so cool, is that she could have been written for / as a man, but instead Thomas Harris engages the reader with a strong, but slightly flawed female lead who turns out to be more than she first appears. In a similar manner to that of the Ripley character, highlighted in last months Honorary Oakley, the character of Clarice Starling is made all the better for being a woman. It allows for a certain dimension that can be explored that would have been ignored had the character been yet another male protagonist out for the bad guy.

She’s different, but the same…
The character of Clarice undergoes a bit of a shift, both in character and actress in the followup to the film ‘The Silence of the Lambs’. Jodie Foster would not commit to the project, it is said because she thought the end of the book betrayed the character of Clarice because she is drugged and hypnotized by Lecter she joins him in a cannibalistic meal, thus symbolizing her crossing over to his realm. A bit of a shame for the character and Jodie was replaced by the actress Julianna Moore. Essentially the character of Clarice is used in a plot to capture Dr Lecter. Sadly the story does little to explore the character of Clarice overly and it was fairly uninteresting overall, which is a shame. Still it warrants a mention since this is another incarnation of the character of Clarice. The problem here lay more with the narrative than the acting prowess of Moore, who is actually very good, it’s a shame they didn’t give her more to work with, as they had with Foster years before.

It’s been suggested that Thomas Harris’s works are essentially wild west epics brought to the modern age and in many ways this is true, he references not only Clarice as Annie Oakley, but also refers to the villain as ‘Buffalo Bill’. The best stories seem to be those that utilise the wild west ethos because it is something the viewer can easily relate to, some suggest this is why the film Star Wars is such a huge hit, it’s just a western. With this sort of ethos in mind, the character of Clarice is Annie Oakley, as suggested by her co-workers, she’s a sure shot who doesn’t quite fit the mould of ‘woman’ as norm and also as suggested by the rarity of the female protagonist leads in Hollywood overall. This makes the character fairly unique. She’s strong yet weak, she’s courageous yet scared and it is this dichotomous characterization that lends the character to the audience in a sympathetic manner.

The lambs were screaming…
Clarice Starling is a cool character, no matter which way you look at it. She’s a character you sympathize with, but not because she is weak, but because she is worth sympathizing with. She’s clever, courageous and strong. This is why she’s our Honorary Oakley for November 2005. Her strength of character and will are just what the ladies of the Honorary Oakley are about, she’s timeless in her courage and commitment.

Agent Clarice Starling… We Salute you!

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