Quote:
Originally Posted by crich70
I think the difference is in the fact that Hannibal's victims were either dead when we hear about them or were going to be. A dead person can't feel pain or suffer mental anguish after they are killed, but a victim of someone like Humbert can suffer even after it's all over. That and we've all had the desire at one point or another to hurt someone else for what they did (or we think they did) to us. It's easy to understand rage but not so easy to understand what makes someone like Humbert tick.
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I think the discomfort can come from understanding what Humbert feels, even while disapproving strongly. There may be a secret fear that we're not so different, and an unwillingness to confront that thought in case it might be true. I don't think many people are in danger of feeling too close to Hannibal Lector, so they can read about his antics without fear of self-loathing.