Isolation Quotes in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph). We used Reg Keeland/a.k.a. Steven T. Murray's English language translation.

Quote #13

"I admit it. I just have no idea how it works. It's not only computers and telephone networks, but the motor in my bike, and TV sets and vacuum cleaners and chemical properties and formulae in astrophysics. I'm a nut case, I admit it: a freak" (27.96)

Salander's gifts make her feel isolated from society, because they are accompanied by an difficulty with socialization. These gifts are associated in the novel with Asperger's syndrome.

Quote #14

What did he need her for? Maybe she was just a way to pass the time while he waited for someone whose life was not a f***ing rat hole. (Epilogue.70)

We forget how vulnerable Salander is and how low her self-esteem is, when we see her in Zurich confidently stealing millions from Wennerström. A line like this helps remind us.