The personification of sadomasochistic ideals in the novel comes from Martin Vanger, head of the Vanger Companies and, unknown to all, serial rapist and murderer. For example, Vanger may well have felt that his father, Gottfried Vanger, by raping him as a child, had forced him not only to become the man he had become, but also to accept his " fate ". Stekel and Brink also explained why many serial sadomasochists kill their victims, something he called the death clause. The death clause explained the idea of ​​the “parapathic amalgamation of death and normal sexual intercourse” (Stekel and Brink 2:246). That is, algolagnic behavior is so ingrained in their minds that they can only obtain normal sexual pleasure through the ultimate pain that can be inflicted, death. The death clause is something Vanger seems to have experienced a lot, and it would explain not only his torture chamber, but also why he killed almost every girl he raped. Vanger is not an isolated example; many times in this Swedish novel misogynistic and sadistic examples appear. Nor does the book depict an isolated culture of sadists in Sweden, as evidenced by Lisbeth Salander who says that "when she was 18...she didn't know a single girl who, at some point, had not been forced to perform some kind of behavior.” sexual act against his will” (Larsson 228). The first sadistic scene experienced in the book comes from Nils Bjurman, Salander's court-appointed guardian. As previously stated, he expected a quid pro quo relationship and he subjected her to his sadistic pleasures on two occasions. It is important to note how much he focuses on what he doesn't like. “So you don’t like anal sex” (Larsson 250), he asks, and once she makes this statement, he has found her weakness; a us...... middle of paper ......school. Internet. February 17, 2014. “Happiness in Sweden. » World Happiness Organization. np, nd Web. March 18, 2014Helman, Christopher. “The happiest (and saddest) countries in the world, 2013.” Forbes.com. Forbes Media LLC., October 29, 2013. Web. March 18, 2014Larsson, Stieg. The girl with the dragon tattoo. Trans. Reg Keeland. New York: Random House, Inc., 2008. Print. Rosenberg, S., Robin and Shannon O'Neill. The psychology of the girl with the dragon tattoo: understanding the Millennium trilogy by Lisbeth Salander and Stieg Larsson. BenBella Books, Inc., 2013. Google eBook. Internet. February 17, 2014. Stekel, Wilhelm and Louise Brink. Sadism and masochism: the psychology of hatred and cruelty. 2 vol. New York: Liveright, 1953. Questia School. Internet. February 17, 2014. Sussman, Henry. Around the book: systems and literacy. New York: Fordham UP, 2011. Questia School. Internet. February 17. 2014