Deceased author Stieg Larsson of the famed Millenium series was never able to see the success of his books, but the life he did lead was a captivating one. As a financially crippled investigative journalist for his magazine Expo, the Rolling Stone recently reported that Larsson strongly opposed racism and right-wing extremism. Larsson was so obsessed in fact, that he even used six tall filing cabinets to store a mass collection of newspaper clippings and articles on the subject. What’s more, the Stone arranged an interview with Larsson’s niece, Therese Larsson, who is allegedly the woman famed Dragon Tattoo character Lisbeth Salander was modeled after, and what a character she was!
Having recently seen The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo movie, I think Larsson’s star character Lisbeth Salander is decidedly memorable. If you are a fan of the books, you will surely agree. The first movie mainly revolves around uncovering a mystery, but Salander plays a tough sidekick with a callous exterior to reporter Mikael Blomkvist, and in my book she is a character I can both respect and admire.
What intrigued me most about her was her ability to live life in the moment. To me, living in the moment and following your inner voice frees you from any negative emotion- anger, fear, guilt, stress etc. From the way she dresses to the vengeful stunts she performs on people who are cruel to her, Salander does whatever she pleases without a thought to how anyone else will react. She is one hundred percent unique and repeatedly throws on a brave face despite all of the tragedy she faces. More than anything, Salander is in complete control of her actions and respects herself, which is something I always encourage.
Like Salander, you can create the strength within yourself to walk away with something good from all of your experiences and truly be the person you want to be in this lifetime. I love walking away from books and movies feeling like I have connected with the characters—if only Stieg Larsson could see how influential his free-spirited character has become!
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