Thomas Harris' Hannibal
Section IV - Notable Occasions on the Calendar of Dread

Chapter 72

• Page 359: [406] Starling, you're old to still be -- A virgin? A challenge to her sexuality? To the best of my knowledge, Jesus was also a virgin at 33. But I don't believe Starling was a virgin. At the end of SOTL, as I recall, she spent a weekend with one of the bug boys.

  Rachael suggests that Krendler is not talking about her virginity but rather her Electra complex. In other words, he is saying is that Clarice is too old to be screwing her daddy. Another dig at her humble origins. [Thanks Rachael.]

Chapter 73

• Page 362: [410] Leda and the Swan. Zeus assumed the form of a swan in order to woo Leda. Leda became the mother of Castor, Pollux, Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra. Cygnus is the constellation of the swan, BTW. Castor and Pollux, of course, being Gemini. Here's a poem by William Butler Yeats about Leda and the Swan.

  [Contributed by lrr3]
  Lecter watches a film, A Brief History of Time, which he's seen many times before, running it backwards over the part where the teacup smashes on the floor. This is reminiscent of Jame Gumb watching films of his mother and Dolarhyde reviewing his many films.

  Stephen Hawking is on another plane entirely from the rest of us. Similar things are said about Hannibal. If ever there was a man to match wits with Hannibal, Stephen Hawking might just fit the bill. Interestingly, Mason Verger seems to have a few of Stephen Hawking's traits - immobility and voice, perhaps. [Thanks to Gary Larson]

Chapter 74

• Page 368: [417] In a well-lit area dominated by Christopher Wren's model of St. Paul's, the hospital blueprints were waiting on a drawing table.
  Stephen Lafferty writes that Christopher Wren is interred in St. Paul's. "The inner dome of the Cathedral has the following inscription as a dedication to Wren;
  Lector, si monumentium requiris, circumspice
  which is translated as 'Reader, if you seek his monument, look about you'."

Chapter 75

• Page 372: [421] Dr. Lecter has a subscription to ICARUS, the international journal of solar system studies. In fact, he was a charter subscriber. This is a real magazine out of Cornell University. With wings of feathers and wax, Icarus flew too close to the sun, the wings melted and he plummeted to his death.

• Page 373: [422] Krendler is wearing a white Nike headband, white Nike shoes and a dark Nike running suit. Nike is the goddess of victory and in the picture below is shown sacrificing a bull. This bears a striking resemblance to Mithras only here Nike looks directly at the bull. [See the stars page.]

from Ulansey, David, The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries
Oxford University Press, 1989, p. 31