Into the Psychology of Dolarhyde from Thomas Harris’s Red Dragon

The Red Dragon by Thomas Harris is the first book in the Hannibal trilogy. It follows the investigations into the killings committed by a very meticulous serial killer: The Red Dragon. Filled with piquant metaphors, unforgettable characters, and seamless storytelling, the Red Dragon is a book that stays with you long after you have read it. Harris’ greatest feat is creating a villain we hate at first and later on come to empathize and even identify with on some levels.

In a world obsessed with heroes and geniuses, Harris’ protagonist Will Graham will obviously take center stage- and rightfully so. However, there is something about Francis Dolarhyde, something visceral and painfully human, that squeezes at your heart. I like to believe no human is inherently bad. We all come into the world as blank slates. The characters and personalities we manifest as we grow are simply a function of the experiences that have imprinted on us- and this is the same in Dolarhyde’s case.

Slurred Speeches and Childhood Wishes: Dolarhyde’s Life in Review

Born on 14th June 1938 to a struggling Irish musician, Michael Trevane and his wife, Marian Dolarhyde Trevane, fate had already decided Francis Dolarhyde would have a very disturbing and trying childhood. Marian saw her child for the first time a few days after delivery and abandoned him in the hospital because of his cleft lip. She later found a job and married a wealthy, widowed lawyer and advocate of the state legislature, Howard Vogt.

After his mother abandoned him, the hospital sent Dolarhyde to Springfield Foundling Home for a year and a half and finally to Morgan Lee Memorial Hospital. Dolarhyde’s grandmother (Marian’s mother) found out about Dolarhyde’s existence when he was five years old and took the boy into her custody. When Dolarhyde first met his grandmother, Rev. S.B. Buddy (Brother Buddy), the vicar in charge of the orphanage, asked Dolarhyde to introduce himself. Dolarhyde had been working on the pronunciation of his name for a long time. The boys at the orphanage had been helping him. For someone with a speech impairment, it was quite impressive that he had learned to pronounce his name without issues. Unfortunately, Dolarhyde did not introduce as…