Psychopathy and Serial Killers
The novel is about the search for one serial killer using the help of another and so psychopathy and the psychology of serial killers is the central theme of the book. What is shown is that there are more differences between serial killers than there are similarities. The similarities are statistical and issues by law enforcement officials (such as classifying anyone who murders more than three people a serial killer or anyone who murders a person without remorse or for enjoyment a psychopath.) However the two mass murderers profiled in the novel could not be more different. Dr Lecter is incredibly intelligent, well-educated and outwardly very successful. He fits into society well and would not stand out as an obvious "weirdo". Buffalo Bill is disordered, hates himself and is struggling to find his identity. He would be no more likely to consume one of his victims as a meal than would the agents searching for him, yet this is what Dr Lecter both wants and needs to do. Similarly, Dr Lecter would not derive any pleasure from "wearing" his victims and is as comfortable with his gender identity as any law abiding man in the street. The stark differences between their motivation and psychopathy is the central theme.
Gender Politics and Stereotyping
Despite Clarice's obvious skill as an agent and profiler she has to work harder and be better at her job than any of her male counterparts (the workplace is prejudiced against women. This is not news.) she is also viewed not as an agent but as a female agent. She is hit on by the prisoners in the jail and also by their psychologist Dr Chilton. However her gender is also helpful when it comes to dealing with Dr Lecter. His ego would not allow him to see a male agent as a worthy intellectual adversary but having a smart female agent to play against is appealing to him. He is also attracted to her and enjoys the game. Clarice is not just portrayed as an agent but as a woman, which would not necessarily have been the case had she been a male agent.
Transgender Issues and Identity
Some critics of the novel see it as "transphobic" because it profiles a transgender serial killer whose transgender struggle is the primary motivation for his killing spree. However this is as unfair as condemning a novel with a male mass murderer as anti-men. Buffalo Bill's struggle is primarily internal. He wants to be a woman but wearing the clothes of a woman no longer satisfies him and he feels whole only when wearing the skin of a woman. He is also in some way killing the part of himself that is identifying as a woman each time he murders a girl. His gender identity is the key to the book and his psychopathy and is therefore an important theme.
Motivation
All of the characters in the novel exhibit similar behavior in their dealings with each other. It is their motivation that matters and this is one of the lesser themes in the book although it is constant throughout. For example, every character is incredibly manipulative but some (Jack Crawford, Clarice Starling) are manipulative in order to find out who the serial killer is and hopefully save his kidnap victim's life, whilst others (Dr Lecter) are manipulative because it amuses them. Dr Lecter manipulates the situation to enable him to be puppet master and to play mind games with Clarice, and he also manipulates the situation to allow him to escape. Dr Chilton manipulates Dr Lecter by telling him about Clarice's fake transfer offer but he is manipulative in order to be seen as the only person able to get the killer's identity out of Lecter and to prevent Clarice from doing so. There is good manipulation and well-intended lying and deception, and there is deception that comes from a place of evil. The book's theme studies this in depth and shows this difference throughout.
