Morality and Ethics 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 #7

"Lisbeth, I'm not here to blackmail you. I'm here to ask you to help me do some research. You can say yes or no." (18.172)

This might be a little hard for her to believe fresh after her experience with Bjurman. Blomkvist could ruin her with the proof he has that she hacked his computer. Lucky for him, he decides to be her friend instead.

Quote #8

[Martin:] "Of course my actions aren't socially acceptable, but my crime is first and foremost a crime against the conventions of society." (24.25)

While Salander and Blomkvist think of the suffering of the individual women Martin hurts, Martin pretends to believe that his actions wouldn't be considered criminal if they weren't illegal.

Quote #9

"Harriet F***ing Vanger. If she had done something in 1966, Martin Vanger couldn't have kept killing and raping for thirty-seven years." (27.13)

Salander argues that Harriet had a moral obligation to society to make sure Martin never did to others what he did to Harriet. Harriet could see no way to do this without endangering herself. It's a moral quandary.