The ironic injury
This novel picks up where the last novel left off. The injury was obtained at the end of The Girl Who Played With Fire, and constitutes a great deal of irony in that book and in this one. The irony here is that the hero is incapacitated for the majority of the story. She is typically very active and powerful, but her own father has removed her ability from her. She has to work just to survive, and the injury is so severe, it is ironic that she even survived it.
Blaming the victim
If Lisbeth's injury symbolizes the damage done by evil patriarchy, then this irony is certainly symbolic. Although Lisbeth has just survived an attempted murder where her own father shot her in the head, she now suffers the blame of others who want to try her for attempted murder against him. This victim-blaming is deeply disturbing and unjust, and it points to the problem as it occurs in normal life. There is a connection here to rape victims and the problem of blaming them for their victimization. After all, Zala does represent rape, as he runs a sex trafficking ring.
Dependence on others
Ironically, Lisbeth, a character defined in novel after novel for her independence and power, now finds herself dependent on others. She depends on doctors and healthcare professionals to keep her alive. She depends on advocates to maintain her legal innocence, because there are those who want to blame her for Zala's injury, although he shot her in the head before she swung the ax, and she is dependent on those who appreciate her to do what's best for her. This is challenging for such a character as she.
Zala's survival
The novel also includes this poignant detail, that the same doctor who saved Lisbeth saved Zala as well, treating them as of equal value. This is ironic because Zala doesn't treat anyone as equal with him, especially not women, and yet, true medical virtue makes the doctor better than him. Zala's survival is ironic also because he gets executed by Gullberg, the former director of Säpo's secret division. His survival didn't amount to much.
Truth and chaos
On the other hand, Lisbeth's survival amounts to a tremendous amount. Because of her survival, she is able to write an autobiography about her struggle against an evil father and the organizations that he worked with. The effect of her truth is absolute chaos, because she is able to upset the power structures that defended Zala. The status quo is secretly unjust and in need of adjustment, but all she has to do to make that happen is to tell her truth.
