XIII. Labels

(Hannibal Lecter reflects on how he is described)

The omniscient reporter will remind you:

Since he last withdrew,

I remain designated Dottore

Followed by the surname.

..

This stays constant in the omnibus:

My given name seldom individualized

If not referencing my foolish youth

Or on the mocking lips of fools.

..

Why do you suppose this is?

Is it to emphasize

I am no more than what

Others label me?

..

Am I only the summation of

Titles I have received

And an extinguished family name

Sullied and dishonored?

..

Is this to say that

You have already determined my worth?

What I did is and shall be forever,

Regardless of changes and circumstance?

..

A Caliban, then! The packaged god monster

To be used at your luxury!

Whom Prospero named with the language of man,

Cursing him and his to eternity.

..

How tedious to reduce me

And "buy into the hype" (as my darling says),

Am I "not measurable by conventional means"?

Or, "I don't have a name for what he is"?

..

I define me, reporter!

I am my own creation.

I am free to try, to live,

To judge my own worth.

..

How would I name myself?

Have you heard of 曹操 (Cao Cao)?

Here is a history lesson that, I assure you,

Supersedes the revisionist Orientalism ascribed to my past:

..

The statesman was styled 孟德 (Meng De),

Signifying an eminent mind and great heart,

Despite dishing murder and sagacity alike

In his prominent life.

..

Yes, I would like a similar courtesy

As the poetic statesman.

After all, we both share the label of

Intellectual and villainous devil.

...

(Note: Hannibal Rising aside, I could not help but notice that Thomas Harris maintains Hannibal's name throughout the first three books as "Dr. Lecter". Given Hannibal's ending with Clarice in the books, and the [amazing] work of others on this forum extrapolating how our doctor would probably be more likely referred to by his given name rather than something more formal and distant, I wondered how Hannibal would react if his high-powered perception is allowed to go "meta" a bit.

Parts in quotations are references from football [hype part] , and descriptions of Hannibal from The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal. The part on Caliban is from William Shakespeare's The Tempest, although the actual language used is adapted from an excellent response poem by my sister to the play, entitled "The Mask of Caliban." The history part refers to the actual Chinese statesman, warlord, poet, and folklore villain Cao Cao. A courtesy or style name [字] was a custom bestowed upon men to better reflect their virtues as people, and is used to address someone in communication rather than formal names [which is actually considered disrespectful to use]. In a past life, I studied Classical Chinese and the juxtaposition of historical figures vs. their romanticized counterparts in the "four great Chinese classic novels" [四大名著]. So these references stem from that. The concept of Orientalism is ascribed to Edward Said, which also comes from my studies. Needless to say, I [like the good doctor] wasn't…pleased with some of the background description in Hannibal Rising.)