1. “The opportunity makes the thief.”
2. “She had taken many more punches to both body and soul than anyone should ever have to endure. But she had been able to rebel every time.”
3. “There are no innocents. There are, however, different degrees of responsibility.”
4. “A journalist finds out things by asking questions of people who know.”
5. “Salander was the woman who hated men who hate women.”
6. “Mind Your Own Business.”
7. “It was completely impossible to box with her. She had only one style, which we called Terminator Mode. She would try to nail her opponent, and it didn’t matter if it was just a warm-up of friendly sparring.”
8. “She had discovered that the most effective method of keeping the fear at bay was to fantasize about something that gave her a feeling of strength. She closed her eyes and conjured up the smell of gasoline.”
9. “Files are one thing. People are something else.”
10. “Mathematics was actually a logical puzzle with endless variations—riddles that could be solved. The trick was not to solve arithmetical problems. Five times five would always be twenty-five. The trick was to understand combinations of the various rules that made it possible to solve any mathematical problem whatsoever.”
11. “I believe that everyone has it in them to kill another person. In desperation, or hatred, or at least to defend themselves.”
12. “That’s the crux of almost every fight, the moment when the strength drains out of you and the adrenaline pumps so hard that it becomes a burden and surrender appears like a ghost at ringside.”
13. “There were not so many physical threats that could not be countered with a decent hammer.”
14. “From a purely physical standpoint she didn’t have a chance, but her attitude was that death was better than capitulation.”
15. “It proved once again the theory that no security system is a match for a stupid employee.”
16. “There was a difference, besides, between Catholicism and Judaism. He went to the synagogue when he needed company and fellowship with other people. Catholics went to church to seek peace in the presence of God. The church invited silence and visitors would always be left to themselves.”
17. “I have a truly marvellous demonstration of this proposition which this margin is too narrow to contain.”
18. “When other people are grieving, the newspaperman turns efficient.”
19. “His attitude had always been that if a woman clearly indicated that she did not want anything more to do with him, he would go on his way. Not respecting such a message would in his eyes, show a lack of respect for her.”
20. “Men could be as big as a house and made of granite, but they all had balls in the same place.”
21. “Consider this a fair warning.”
22. “Those pointless equations, to which no solution exists, are called absurdities.”
23. “Mimi was massaging Salander’s back and neck. She had been kneading intently for 20 minutes while Salander mainly enjoyed herself and uttered an occasional groan of pleasure. A massage from Mimi was a fantastic experience, and she felt like a kitten who just wanted to purr and wave its paws around.”
24. “Nobody was innocent. There were only varying degrees of responsibility.”
25. “Always retain the ability to walk away, without sentimentality, from a situation that felt unmanageable. That was a basic rule of survival. Don’t lift a finger for a lost cause.”
26. “She marked off another day in her head.”
27. “No matter how hard she tried to concentrate on something else- pass the time and to distract her situation she was in- The fear came trickling out. It however like a cloud of gas around her threatening to penetrate her pores and poison her. She had discovered that the most affective way of keeping the fear of day was to fantasize that something that gave her a feeling of strength. She closed her eyes and conjured up the smell of gasoline.”
28. “She still weighed only forty kilos and stood one metre twenty-four centimetres tall.”
29. “She hardly ever began conversations with strangers just to talk. It was not a matter of shyness. For her, a conversation had a straightforward function. How do I get to the pharmacy? or How much does the hotel room cost? Conversation also had a professional function. […] When she worked as a researcher […], she had never minded having a long conversation if it was to ferret out facts. On the other hand, she disliked personal discussions, which always led to snooping around in areas she considered private.”
30. “She went out on the balcony and leaned”
31. “Don’t ever fight with Lisbeth Salander. Her attitude towards the rest of the world is that if someone threatens her with a gun, she’ll get a bigger gun.”
32. “if a woman clearly indicated that she did not want anything more to do with him, then he would go on his way. Not respecting such a message would, in his eyes, show a lack of respect for her.”
33. “Mind Your Own Business.”
