An Essay Regarding Love in Let the Right One In

This is a composite of my postings at the related thread. I hope to finish this essay as time permits, because it is not complete.

One of the aspects of JAL’s novel that I very much enjoyed was how he portrayed love’s development between Oskar and Eli. I thought it would be fun to pull together the passages, big and small, which showed how their relationship began and deepened, and its impact on both characters.

THE FIRST ENCOUNTER

When Oskar first meets Eli on October 22, she interrupts a revenge fantasy that he is playing out against a tree. She stands behind him on the jungle gym, and his first vision of her is indirect--a blurry reflection on the blade of his knife. This is very symbolic, and could be intended to foreshadow Oskar’s future knowledge that Eli is a creature of violence, and the role that violence will play in drawing the two of them together. The image is blurred because, although he sees Eli, Oskar does not truly understand what Eli is.

In the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, probably the most well-known passage of the New Testament that talks about love, Paul writes, "At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known." In our fallen state, we cannot see and know God perfectly, and therefore our love of God will be imperfect. Likewise, too, in our relationships with one another, we cannot truly love someone until we know that person, really understand who they are and choose to love that person. So although at this point Oskar really does not know Eli, perhaps his blurred image of her points to later developments in the novel, when he will begin to understand who Eli is, yet still come to love Eli.

One would think that most boys, being caught in such a situation, would immediately hide the knife, but Oskar actually turns and steps toward Eli with his knife drawn. Why is not clear; perhaps he is still caught up in the emotions of his fantasy, or perhaps it is the result of some subconscious reaction to Eli’s presence. He experiences a strange moment in which he fears that he might stab Eli, realizes what he is doing, and then puts away his knife. Then it dawns on him that Eli was not frightened by what he did. Eli, of course, has no reason to be frightened, but Oskar does not know this.

Their initial exchange is stand-offish. Eli does not immediately answer Oskar when he says ‘hi,’ and Oskar recognizes right away how strange she appears, with her doll-like appearance, and because she is outside in the cold wearing only a thin sweater.

Because Oskar lies to Eli about what he is doing, Håkan’s act of murder becomes the first topic of conversation. Earlier, Oskar sees a photo of the murder victim in the newspaper, and thinks he looks like the bullies who are tormenting him at school. “He looked like a Jonny or Micke. Maybe there was now an Oskar in the Vallingby school who had been set free.” Oskar considers whether his violent “game” could have caused the murder. And, instead of being horrified at the thought, he thinks of it as a new power that he must learn to control.

From all of this it can be seen that Oskar and Eli are unknowingly linked by violence from the first moment that they encounter one another. Without knowing it, Oskar is talking to the beneficiary of the murder, and Eli does not understand that Oskar has interpreted her victim as being one of the bullies, and entertained thoughts that he might have somehow caused the murder.

There is an interesting description of Oskar’s body language after Eli tells him that she cannot be friends with him. He defensively folds his hands over his chest and thereby feels the knife inside his coat. Only after Eli turns his back on him does he muster the courage to say, "What makes you think I'd want to be friends with you? You must be pretty stupid." Eli does not let this pass, and when she returns to challenge his remark, Oskar wraps his arms tightly around himself, presses a hand against his knife, and stares down into the ground. Oskar does not like genuine confrontation, and draws comfort from the presence of his knife. His reaction fits perfectly with the passive/aggressive nature of his unfolding personality.

Oskar notices three other strange things about Eli before the end of their first meeting. She smells like an infected wound; she admits to not feeling cold because "I've forgotten how to"; and she is very agile and strong, being able to jump down from a height of more than two meters without harming herself, and slam open the apartment door with one hand. All is not as it seems!

THE SECOND ENCOUNTER

Eli certainly piqued Oskar’s curiosity. He tries in vain to gather a little intelligence about her from the apartment itself, but the windows of her apartment are covered (“suspicious”), and there is no name either by the front door of the building, or on Eli’s door. He begins to think she’s strange because she comes from a family of drug addicts, even though he’s never actually met a drug addict. He then encounters Håkan on the stairs--“a short, stocky man who was half bald and smiled in an unnaturally wide way.” He concludes that Håkan is Eli’s father, and that he looks “sick.” Naturally, he then thinks that this explains Eli’s strangeness.

Of course, Oskar’s thinking about Eli, although natural enough, is false. There are later instances when this occurs, and it almost becomes a recurring theme in the novel. Because of her condition, Eli is a secretive, reclusive person. For her, attempting contact with strangers is fraught with risks; risks of exposure and death. She is, in this sense, a very “tough nut to crack,” but yet, crack she will for what Oskar offers her—a most pure, genuine, and heartfelt human love.

Oskar’s second encounter with Eli takes place on Friday, October 23. By this time, only a day after first meeting her, he has become so interested in Eli that he actually waits by his window, watching for her to leave the building. When he sees Eli come out, he pulls away from the window, lest she see him and realize that he has been looking for her, and he delays going down to the playground for a few minutes. He does not want Eli to realize just how interested he has become in her. Oskar lacks self-confidence, and he has to play it cool—after all, Eli might think that he’s a little strange, too. He foregoes crepes and watching TV with his mother and heads out, and in a small act of defiance toward her, does not wear a hat.

It is not easy to discern Eli’s motivations at this point in the story. Earlier in the day, she has a conversation with Håkan in which she attempts to motivate him to go back out and procure more blood. She tells him that she is still too “weak” to get it herself. Håkan does not relish the task and does not feel that Eli really loves him, so naturally, he is reluctant. The situation is not resolved, but in any event, Eli goes out.

Whether Eli stops at the playground to be alone, as she tells Oskar, or out of a genuine interest to see Oskar again, is not clear. And if the latter is true, the desires behind it are also unclear, because during their third encounter she will come very close to killing Oskar. There may, however, have been a combination of things going on inside Eli at this point: hunger, dissatisfaction with Håkan, loneliness, and probably boredom as well.

Still “playing it cool,” Oskar waits for Eli to approach him, itself a form of manipulation. He cannot find it in himself simply to go to her and offer a friendly hello. Who will make the first move is important to him, and Oskar does not want Eli to think that he’s weird, lonely, and desperate for friendship. So, he behaves as someone he’s not. Fortunately for both of them, Eli is the lonelier of the two, and breaks the ice.

Just as in the previous day, Eli is up high on the jungle gym. Oskar knows she is there, and finds her presence unnerving (“He felt a flicker of worry in his stomach but took no notice of her”). But not, apparently, unsettling enough to prevent him from engaging in a childish turf war over who has the superior right to be alone on the playground equipment.

In this meeting, Oskar’s impression of just how strange Eli is deepens. She is again out in the cold with only a sweater, the same one she wore yesterday. Although she looks “puny,” she again demonstrates her agility (“Oskar felt a quiver in his tummy when she hit the ground; if he had tried the same jump he would have hurt himself. But the girl landed as softly as a cat”). She stinks (to such a degree that Oskar almost vomits and must remove himself to the swings), and looks like she has mud in her hair, making one wonder about what sort of a person Håkan is, to be able to live with her. And she talks funny, “like a grown-up,” even though she’s apparently never heard of a Rubik’s Cube.

The most important thing that occurs in the second meeting is that Oskar redeems his initial act of unkindness (“take that”) by offering his Rubik’s Cube to Eli, and she accepts it. This is a key moment in their relationship, because Oskar retains ownership of the toy, thereby creating a reason for them to meet again, since the Cube must be returned. Appropriately enough for a friendship between two children, it is a toy that forms their first bond.

THE THIRD ENCOUNTER

Oskar and Eli meet for the third time on the night of October 24. Oskar has remained curious about Eli; he stops and listens outside her door while delivering advertisements, but hears only a radio. He also considers whether Eli might have any friends, and concludes, correctly, that she does not.

Later, Oskar is home alone, rummaging through his apartment, “as if he were looking for something without knowing exactly what it was. A secret. Something that would change things. . . . Something unfamiliar.” It is not clear why he is doing this; perhaps he is unconsciously trying to understand himself a little better; trying to learn more about his own past so that he might change who he is.

In any event, he finds a photograph of his christening, and by the description of his parents in the photograph, it is revealed that they divorced when Oskar was two, and never remarried. This is an important fact about Oskar, and could explain some of his insecurity.

When Oskar meets Tommy outside, he asks him how Håkan’s victim had been killed; specifically, whether he had been stabbed. Oskar is apparently still wondering whether his stabbing of the tree might somehow have been transferred to Håkan’s victim. Tommy tells him that the boy had died from having his throat cut, not from being stabbed.

Before leaving her apartment, Eli has a conversation with Håkan. He refuses to go out and kill again for her, and, clearly disappointed, she tells him that she is going to go out and do it herself. Håkan does not appear concerned about Eli’s situation; he is more concerned about why Eli has decided to take a bath, something she does not normally do. Eli’s motivations for taking a shower are not explained; presumably, it was prompted by Oskar’s remark the previous night.

Eli is once again at the top of the jungle gym, and this time she invites Oskar to come up and join her. The ice has been broken between them, and with the Cube they now have something in common. For his part, Oskar needs no encouragement; evidently, he is now prepared to share the jungle gym.

Eli wastes no time in pointing out to Oskar that she has bathed, turning it into a playful jab that makes Oskar blush. Eli also demonstrates that she is courteous when she thanks Oskar for lending the Rubik’s Cube to her.

Oskar is quite taken aback when he realizes that Eli has solved his Cube without taking it apart. Now he begins to understand just how smart Eli must be.

Eli takes advantage of this in the conversation that ensues about her age and the fact that she does not know when she was born, and does not celebrate her birthday. She seems to take charge of the conversation. What ensues is a pivotal moment in their relationship:

“She stepped closer to him. Her breath wafted onto his face and the city of light in her eyes was extinguished when she stepped into his shadow. Her pupils were two marble-sized holes in her head.

“She's so sad. So very, very sad.

"`No, I never get any presents. Ever.’

“Oskar nodded stiffly. The world around him had ceased to exist. Only those two holes, a breath away. Their breaths mingled and rose, dissipated.

"`Do you want to give me a present?’

"`Yes.’

“His voice was not even a whisper. Only an exhalation. The girl's face was close.

“His gaze was drawn to her butter-knife cheek.

“That was why he didn't see her eyes change, how they narrowed, took on another expression. He didn't see how her upper lip drew back and revealed a pair of small, dirty white fangs. He only saw her cheek and while her mouth was nearing his throat he drew up his hand and stroked her face.

“The girl froze for a moment, then pulled back. Her eyes resumed their former shape; the city of light was back.

"`What did you do that for?’

"`I'm sorry .. . I--’

"`What did you do?’”

Eli, as a vampire, has through some power, manipulated Oskar’s sympathy for her plight so as to make him vulnerable to attack. Precisely when she formed the intent to take Oskar is not clear; it could be that it occurred when Oskar expressed his concern for her by asking whether she ever received any birthday presents. His sympathy for her now revealed, Eli realizes that she can capitalize on this. It is at this point that she moves very close to Oskar, somehow causing him to think that she is sad. In reality, however, Eli is not feeling sad; she is thinking about killing Oskar. The veil of darkness in Eli’s eyes is symbolic, demonstrating that she has ceased to be a pretty little girl, and has now become a predator. She asks Oskar if he would like to give her a present, but she is not thinking about a toy or a gift; she is thinking about Oskar’s blood. She is entrapping him.

The first physical contact between Oskar and Eli thus occurs at the precise moment when Oskar is in mortal peril. And it is his simple, human act of touching Eli’s cheek, to feel her smooth, silky skin, that completely derails Eli’s intentions and breaks her power over him. In one of the most beautiful scenes of the entire novel, Oskar thus saves himself from death at Eli’s hands, thereby overcoming a huge stumbling block to any form of love between them. By merely touching Eli, Oskar has unwittingly made her look at him not as an object, but as a human being. He awakens the human side of Eli.

This raises an interesting question: if she was prepared to kill him at this moment, what, exactly, was Oskar to Eli before he touched her? Apparently, not much; at most, perhaps, an interesting diversion. A plaything to alleviate her boredom? Something to be used for her own amusement, and then discarded? Or was she simply extra-hungry, frustrated, and so desperate for food that she was willing to kill a boy right in her own apartment complex?

After the spell is broken, Oskar continues to demonstrate his kindness. True to his word, he offers Eli his Cube as a present. But she declines.

Significantly, it is only after Oskar defeats Eli’s intentions that they tell each other their names. And it is fairly clear from the text that Eli finds the entire situation unsettling. She is not accustomed to telling anyone her name, and she feels uncomfortable and wants to get away. But two important things happen before she does so. First, she looks Oskar “straight in the eyes,” perhaps for the first time really looking at Oskar as another person, not an object to serve her own purposes. One gets the sense that Eli realizes that Oskar, somehow, has exercised power over her, rather than the other way around as she had intended; she finds this confusing, but at the same time, interesting. Second, she commits to seeing Oskar the next day, thereby showing us that genuine human contact is something she desires.

OSKAR’S EMPATHY FOR ELI

After Oskar goes home and Eli returns to her apartment, satiated by Jocke’s blood, there is a wonderful interval in which Oskar overhears an argument between Eli and Håkan through the wall of his bedroom.

Having enjoyed a satisfying encounter with Eli, and more importantly, having actually touched her, Oskar is at this point quite taken with her. His feelings for her are not quite at the point of “limerence” (“an involuntary cognitive and emotional state of intense romantic desire for another person”), but he is getting there.

Oskar is certainly having intrusive thoughts about Eli; he pays no attention to a Muppets TV program he watches with his mother, and can barely remember what he spoke about with her after the show. His thoughts are wholly upon Eli. Once in bed, his bedroom’s “forest meadow” wallpaper is not merely something upon which he can exercise his imagination, looking for woodland creatures; it is a barrier between himself and Eli.

Has anyone not had this experience during their preadolescent childhood? When you meet someone of the opposite sex who you, for no particular reason that you could explain to anyone, think of as the greatest thing since sliced bread? Whose qualities you perceive as the essence of beauty? Whose mere presence brings intense feelings of happiness and pleasure? Lindqvist captures this feeling perfectly in his description of Oskar during this interval—imagining what Eli’s room looks like, just on the opposite side of his wall; stroking his wall while fantasizing that it is her cheek; her skin. All Oskar wishes to do at this moment is to be in Eli’s presence and experience some form of close, meaningful contact with her. It is a very touching picture of childish infatuation at its purest.

And what would Eli have thought about it, had she known? If, somehow, Oskar could have zapped his feelings for her through the wall, and had she not been preoccupied with her argument with Håkan about the slaying of Jocke? I think, perhaps, she would have been somewhat surprised by the intensity of feelings she had aroused in Oskar. Had she ever been another young boy’s love object before? It is difficult to say, and even more difficult to speculate about what had happened, if such were the case. It is not beyond the realm of imagination to believe, however, that perhaps Eli took advantage of it to procure an easy meal for herself. But even if this is true, would Eli have thought of Oskar in the same way, given what had just occurred on the jungle gym?

Of course, Oskar completely misinterprets the argument that Eli and Håkan are having, because he is unable to see Eli except through the prism of his own longing for her. Just as he previously concluded, incorrectly, that Håkan’s strangeness explained Eli’s oddities, he now perceives Håkan as abusing Eli, someone who is small, defenseless, and in need of his protection. He even relates Håkan’s “abuse” to his encounter with Eli, thinking that perhaps Håkan is angry that Eli allowed Oskar to touch her cheek, and imagining, very briefly, that Håkan has come into his bedroom to confront him after Håkan leaves the apartment. Oskar wishes that he could be a superhero, pass magically through his wall, and protect Eli from her evil father, even to the point of killing Håkan.

It is not surprising that Oskar would view Håkan in this way, given the failings of his own father, who we now learn is an alcoholic, and whose problems with alcohol resulted in the breakup of the marriage. Although Oskar’s father never became physically abusive, he was prone to losing his temper and going into fits of rage. Thus, although Oskar understands that his father loves him, his father’s love is not constant. It cannot be trusted.

Not only does Oskar misperceive the relationship between Eli and Håkan, but upon that misunderstanding he constructs a false shared experience with Eli. Now both of them have abusive fathers, and this actually makes Oskar happy, since they have something in common, creating the potential for a closer bond between them.

Interestingly, when Oskar’s mother comes into Oskar’s bedroom to complain about all the noise from Eli’s apartment, she believes that Håkan is arguing with his wife, even though she has never seen a woman living in the apartment. Evidently Oskar’s mother, like Oskar, is also prone to seeing things from her own perspective, a perspective that is perhaps warped because of her failed relationship with her former husband. In her mind, the female with whom Håkan is arguing must be the victim.

Oddly, Oskar does nothing to disabuse his mother of her error, even though he knows that Håkan is talking with Eli, a child. Does he already want to keep his budding friendship with Eli a secret?

THE FOURTH ENCOUNTER

October 28 is a big day in the novel, and marks the point at which Oskar’s relationship with Eli clearly moves beyond infatuation to genuine friendship through a mutual giving of each to the other in ways that will draw them closer. It is also important because Oskar’s negative perception of himself begins to improve as a result of their friendship.

Oskar has seen Eli three nights in a row since the evening when his touching of her cheek saved his life, and it is this developing relationship with Eli that prompts him to make his first act of defiance toward the bullies. He refuses to pick up stones in a sandbox, and while doing so thinks about the jungle gym outside his apartment. He has begun to associate the jungle gym with Eli , and subconsciously is thinking about her interest in him.

Interestingly, Oskar’s ability to say no to his oppressors comes to him like “a divine revelation.” (“Like when someone says the word "god" for the first time and really means . . . God.”) This foreshadows a later reference to the significance of Eli’s name, because after Håkan is taken into custody, Holmberg will remind Staffan that “Eli” is the Hebrew word for God. Lindqvist is telling us that there is a mysterious, spiritual element to Eli.

In any event, Oskar believes that he must be someone who Eli will like. The Oskar that he wants Eli to think he is, is a person who stands up for himself. He is stronger than Oskar believes himself to be.

Oskar’s desire for Eli’s companionship motivates him to copy the Morse Code out of an encyclopedia at school. He tries very hard to make sure that Eli’s copy of the Code is neat, showing us that he is willing to give his best work for her.

Unfortunately for Oskar, he suffers for his defiance. Betrayed by Tomas, a Judas-like, former friend, the bullies wait for Oskar after school. Oskar wants to smash Tomas in the face with a rock, but it is three against one and he ends up, once again, being victimized, this time with whips (another Biblical reference). Jonny scourges Oskar while Micke holds him, and then, not to be left out, Tomas inflicts the most grievous wound, to the side of Oskar’s face—even after Oskar had already caved in and begun to cry. Was this lash to the cheek intended to mimic the traitorous kiss of Judas Iscariot?

Not only has Oskar been brutalized, he also discovers that he has wet himself in the process. In a very chilling scene, he rinses his “piss ball” and then makes it into a clown nose; he looks at himself in the mirror, wondering who he is. Because of what the bullies have been doing, Oskar perceives himself as a clown, someone who exists only to entertain others.

But not any clown—an evil clown, for Oskar then scares himself by repeating “kill them” in very low voice that is almost not his own. He again fantasizes about stabbing a tree and having his attack magically transferred to Tomas. He understands that it is just a fantasy, but it will make him feel better, and later that day, he goes out and does it.

Oskar wants comforting from his mother, and initially he thinks that he will simply tell her the truth about the incident. But when he thinks his way through the likely outcome, he concludes that anything his mother might do to right the injustice will be ineffectual. (“Then she would call Tomas' mom and they would argue and then Mom would cry about how mean Tomas' mom was and then ... “). Tomas’ mom will not objectively evaluate what her son has done, and Oskar realizes, apparently from past experience, that his mother will not take things any further. Also, Oskar’s dad is so far removed from his life that he does not even think about talking to him.

For these reasons, Oskar lies to his mother, telling her that he fell off the jungle gym. He knows that the lie doesn’t quite fit his injury, but he also knows that she will be inclined to believe him. (“Mom would want to believe it. She would still feel sorry for him and comfort him, but without all that other stuff.”) As it turns out, he is right.

Oskar encounters Tommy, an older boy who is the closest thing Oskar has to a friend, in the basement of the apartment building where Oskar lives. Oskar likes the basement. He fees secure because there are no bullies around to hurt him. There are no obligations, either, and there is the promise of hidden treasure in trash room.

Tommy cares enough about Oskar to ask about what happened to Oskar’s face, but he does not care enough to intervene. He thinks, “[t]hey would keep beating on Oskar until he finished ninth grade. He was the type. Tommy would have liked to do something but once it got started there was nothing you could do. No stopping it.” This, of course, is not necessarily true, but it is convenient. Tommy is simply not motivated enough to do anything. With his resigned attitude, he is just as impotent as Oskar’s mother.

Oskar does not consider turning to Eli for support. She is a new acquaintance, and he believes that to sustain their relationship, he must be a different, better person. Because Oskar does not like who he is, he cannot believe that Eli could like his true self, either. Oskar has no self-love; therefore, he is not worthy of another’s love. Lying in his bed, he wonders what Eli sees in him, what she will think when she sees his wound, and what he will tell her to explain it. As he thinks, “[w]hat he would tell her depended on what he was to her. Eli was new to him and therefore he had the opportunity to be someone else, say something different from what he said to other people.”

Oskar finally decides to lie to Eli about his cheek. He does not want her to know that he has been labeled a “piggy.” He wants to conceal the truth, and present an image of himself that will make her like him, or that at least will not potentially damage their fledgling relationship.

Eli, though, is not fooled. More so than Tommy, she is very perceptive, and sufficiently streetwise to easily see through the lie. And once confronted with the truth, Oskar readily admits it.

Then Eli tells Oskar to fight back. Clearly, it is Eli, the vampire, who is offering this advice; an older, harder version of the little girl with whom Oskar has become infatuated, with a dark face and glowing eyes:

"`Oskar.’

"`Yes?’

"`Slow down a little.’

“He slowed himself down with his feet, looked at the ground in front of him.

"`Yes, what is it?’

"`You know what?’

“She reached her hand out and grabbed his and he stopped completely, looked at her. Eli's face was almost completely blacked out against the lighted windows behind her. Of course it was just his imagination but he thought her eyes were glowing. At any rate, they were the only thing he could see clearly in her face.

“With her other hand she touched his wound and that strange thing happened. Someone else, someone much older, harder, became visible under her skin. A cold shiver ran down Oskar's back, as if he had bitten into a Popsicle.

"`Oskar. Don't let them do it. Do you hear me? Don't let them.’

“. . . no.

"`You have to strike back. You've never done that, have you?’

"`No.’

"`So start now. Hit them back. Hard.’

"`There's three of them.’

"`Then you have to hit harder. Use a weapon.’

"`Yes.’

"`Stones, sticks. Hit them more than you really dare. Then they'll stop.’

"`And if they keep hitting back?’

"`You have a knife.’

“Oskar swallowed. At this moment, with Eli's hand in his, with her face in front of him, everything seemed simple. But if they started doing worse things if he put up resistance, if they . . .

"`Yes, but what if they...’

"`Then I'll help you.’

"`You? But you are . . .’

"`I can do it, Oskar. That . . . is something I can do.’

“Eli squeezed his hand. He squeezed back, nodded. But Eli's grip hardened, so hard it hurt a little.

“How strong she is.”

Of course, it is easy to sit back and tell someone who is being bullied to fight back. It is the sort of advice that Tommy might have been motivated to offer. But Eli goes beyond mere advice: she offers to help. And she communicates to Oskar, in no uncertain terms, that she is strong despite her appearance. She commits herself to help Oskar, something no one else in his life has done. And she does it fully knowing that Oskar is weak; that he is not the strong person that Oskar thought he needed to be in order to win her friendship. Thus, Eli is teaching Oskar that genuine friendship and love demand truth; truth about who we are. But Eli herself must also learn this lesson.

The bond of violence between Oskar and Eli that was previously unknown to them it now open and explicit. But it is not violence for violence’s sake, or for an ill motive—it is violence offered to protect; to stop oppression.

Somewhat shockingly, Eli even suggests that Oskar use his knife, a proposal that, if followed, would make Oskar’s fantasies a reality. Looked at from her perspective, though, this advice is really not so shocking. As will be revealed, Eli herself was the victim of devastating violence when she was innocent. She will not tolerate violence to be inflicted upon her friend, whom she now realizes is oppressed.

Furthermore, Eli is not a stranger to deadly force. Long ago she decided that she will take the lives of others so that she might live. Killing, for her, is a necessity that finds its justification in the injustice that has been done to her. Eli, in this sense, stands outside of society. She lives in a different world, a world in which she would perish if she were to consider herself bound by fine-tuned notions like “reasonable force.”

Eli encourages Oskar to hit the bullies more than he really dares. The message is that Oskar might prevail if only he could be a stronger person than he imagines; if only he had the courage to believe in himself. Since there is no reason to believe that Eli is speaking in bad faith, the implied message is that she believes this as well. It will be shown, at the end of the novel, that Eli does, in fact, believe that Oskar can be a better person than he is. Her encouragement to Oskar that he also believe in himself is her first, and perhaps most important, expression of love for him.

Basking in Eli’s acceptance of him and in her offer to help, Oskar shows Eli his trick on the swing. To Oskar, performing the trick represents freedom; thus, with Eli, Oskar perceives that he can be free. Free to be himself. And happily, he jumps off the swing and executes his trick perfectly.

The novel also tells us that having done this, Oskar reclaims a certain measure of much needed self-esteem: “he was grateful for the dark that hid a triumphant smile he couldn't suppress . . . . Eli stopped clapping, but his smile was still there. Things were going to be different from now on.”

Eli is now firmly Oskar’s friend. Knowing that she cares about him makes him want to do his best; be everything he can be; push himself to the limit. With her support, he can change, be stronger, and stand up for himself.

Lindqvist also offers us a tiny insight into how Oskar might help Eli with her plight. When the two of them discuss the Morse code, Eli, once again, uses words that Oskar says are too big for her. In response, she does not grow arrogant; instead, she asks him to show her how “not to be strange.” Now it is Oskar’s opportunity to assume the role of a teacher. Eli wants Oskar to help her be a normal kid again—to experience ordinary, childhood friendship, something that she has been denied.

October 29 – Eli’s Relationship with Håkan

Eli’s interaction with Håkan on October 29 shows the effect that spending time with Oskar has had on Eli. Oskar and Eli are heard laughing together in the courtyard of their apartment building, and while she is away from Oskar, Eli’s behavior becomes more child-like. For example, she wants to play games with Håkan in their apartment like “hide the key.”

The novel clearly states that Eli has found a measure of happiness as a result of Oskar’s friendship. Håkan admits to himself that Eli’s attitude is joyful and full of life. (“It was attractive, naturally. This joy, this . . . life.”)

Yet, Håkan is incapable of acknowledging Eli’s new-found happiness. Instead, he views it as a regression; a change for the worse. Rather than adopt an attitude that would foster Eli’s happiness, Håkan secretly desires to undermine Eli’s relationship with Oskar. (“Later, when he was lying there and trying to fall asleep, he had been tempted to tap his own message to Oskar, something about what Eli was.”)

Håkan’s position is grounded in selfishness. The happiness—or, more accurately, the self-gratification masquerading as happiness—that he experiences with Eli is not based on her status as a child who has been denied a childhood; instead, he is committed to thinking of Eli as an adult:

He had thought his beloved was like him. He had looked into Eli's eyes and seen an ancient person's knowledge and indifference. At first it had frightened him: Samuel Beckett's eyes in Audrey Hepburn's face. Then it had reassurred him. It was the best of all possible worlds. The young, lithe body that gave beauty to his life, while at the same time responsibility was lifted from him. He was not the one in charge. And he did not have to feel guilt for his desire; his beloved was older than he. No longer a child.

If Håkan perceived Eli as a child, he would be forced to view himself as what he is: a pedophile. And because is unwilling to admit to himself that he is a pedophile, he finds this image of himself unbearable. He must, therefore, see Eli as an adult in a child’s body. This is not, however, a true picture of who Eli is.

It must be said, in fairness to Håkan, that Eli behaved much like an adult when she initiated their relationship.

One evening when Håkan was sitting on a bench next to a playground with a bottle of half-yeasted wine in a plastic bag, Eli came and sat down beside him. In his drunkenness Hakan had almost immediately put a hand on Eli's thigh. Eli had let it stay there, taken Håkan's head between her hands, turned it toward her, and said: "You are going to be with me."

Håkan had mumbled something about how he couldn't afford such a beauty right now but when his finances allowed ...

Eli had moved his hand from her thigh, leaned down, and taken his wine bottle, poured it out and said: "You don't understand. You're going to stop drinking now. You are going to be with me. You are going to help me. I need you. And I'm going to help you." Then Eli had held out her hand, Håkan had taken it, and they had walked away together.

He had stopped drinking and entered into Eli's service.

Furthermore, it is a world-wise Eli who seeks to manipulate Håkan, through promises that play on his pedophilic desires, to kill for her:

The bathroom lock turned and the door opened. Eli was standing in front of him. Completely naked. Pure.

"Oh-you're sitting out here."

"Yes. You're beautiful."

"Thank you."

"Will you turn around for me?"

"Why?"

"Because ... I want you to."

"No; why don't you get up and move?"

"Maybe I'll say something .. . if you do this for me."

Eli looked quizzically at Hakan. Then turned 180 degrees.

Saliva spurted into his mouth, he swallowed. Looked. A physical sensation of how his eyes devoured what was in front of them. The most beautiful thing there was in the world. An arm's length away. An endless distance.

"Are you ... hungry?"

Eli turned around again.

"Yes."

"I'll do it for you. But I want something in return."

"What is it?"

"One night. All I want is one night."

"OK."

"I can have that?"

"Yes."

"Lie next to you? Touch you?"

"Yes."

"Can I. .."

"No. Nothing more. But that. Yes."

"Then I'll do it. Tonight."

. . .

When Håkan was ready to leave he put the jam jar into the bag with the rest of his equipment. During that time Eli had gotten dressed. She was waiting in the hall when Hakan came out. Eli leaned over and lightly planted a kiss on his cheek. Hakan blinked and looked at Eli's face for a long time.

I'm lost.

Yet, one cannot feel too much sympathy for Håkan. Unlike Eli, whose physiological development was unnaturally halted at 12, he is an adult, 45 years old at the time of the story. As such, Håkan is responsible for his own conduct and decisions. At no point, however, does he stop to ponder the implications of his behavior, to consider whether remaining with Eli is good or bad, for him or for her. We are told, rather, that “[h]e had done everything without wondering whether Eli was ‘evil’ or ‘good’ or anything else. Eli was beautiful and Eli had given him back his dignity. And in rare moments . . . tenderness.”

Håkan could have left Eli if he had wanted. Instead, he chose to morally blind himself, and remain in a relationship that enabled him to stop being a man, abnegate the responsibilities of being a man, and feed his forbidden, pedophilic desires. He chose to be with Eli.

What might have happened if Håkan had thought about Eli’s happiness? If he had cared about preserving whatever remaining part of Eli that was innocent and good? If he had been willing to recognize that Eli was happier being a child with Oskar than being an “adult” in a child’s body with him? If he had attempted, through whatever means were available to him, to foster her happiness over his own?

Let us assume, further, that Håkan had possessed the will to reform his own behavior, and give up his unnatural sexual desire for Eli. Admittedly, this probably would have been extremely difficult, given how deeply entrenched his patterns of behavior had become. Unlike Oskar, who looks in a mirror and is not sure who he is, Håkan has been around for quite awhile, has defined himself, and is unlikely to change. But would Eli, sensing a turn of heart, have reciprocated with genuine love for him? Perhaps. Maybe Eli would then have recognized that like her, Håkan, too, was struggling to retain some semblance of humanity, and was genuinely concerned for hers.

If this had happened, could Håkan have assumed a role that heretofore had been only an illusion: a father to Eli? As Eli’s adoptive father, he would have been happy to see that Eli and Oskar were in love with each other. There would be no jealousy, because he would still be free to love Eli as a father would love his own child. But, because Håkan could only view Eli as something to fulfill his own selfish desires, there was never an opportunity for a genuine love to develop between them; Eli, who correctly perceived Håkan’s motivations, never really loved him, either. In fact, quite the contrary was true.

October 29 – The Kiosk and Eli and Oskar’s First Hug

Eli and Oskar’s teasing of the “monkey” in the newspaper stand confirms what we learned from Håkan’s thoughts: despite feeling the effects of her hunger, Eli is able to enjoy herself with Oskar. She is doing things with him that make her feel like a kid again.

Oskar, being his usual, perceptive self, notices more strange things about Eli during their time together. Her face has begun to resemble a Holocaust survivor’s, and she has white strands in her hair. And she continues to use yesterday’s jargon, like “last one there is a rotten egg.”

A little later, Oskar realizes to his disappointment that Eli does not eat candy. Candy is a long-standing source of comfort to him, and he wants to share it with her. It is his way of being generous. Oskar’s generosity is repeated later in the evening when he spontaneously invites Eli to dinner after concluding that failure to eat properly could explain her emaciated appearance.

As she has been with Oskar regarding other aspects of herself, Eli is tight-lipped about the reason for her aversion to sweets. She values her new-found friendship, and fears that if she reveals the root of her problems, Oskar will abandon her. For now, at least, she is willing to limit their relationship to something that rests upon what might charitably be called a misleading representation of herself. It is not clear whether Eli had planned to simply keep things going indefinitely at this level, or hoped that she might slowly reveal more of herself to Oskar in the hope that he might truly come to know and love her.

Oskar, for his part, does not seem particularly upset with having Eli tell him that “that’s just the way it is”; in fact, he seems perfectly happy to take Eli on her own terms. Some people might find these kinds of arbitrary limitations irritating, and perhaps ultimately a friendship-breaker. Why is Oskar so accepting of them?

Probably a combination of factors is at play. First, when not the subject of someone else’s aggression, Oskar is good-natured as a rule. Second, he is lonely and his circle of friends is small; he does not seem to have had much experience with interpersonal relationships, and he is eager to take what he can get. Finally, he is very infatuated with Eli, enjoys the fact that she is paying attention to him, and is therefore willing to take her on her own terms. All of which makes him a perfect companion for Eli, who has a lot to hide. Oskar thinks he has more to lose in their relationship than Eli, and Eli does nothing to disabuse him of this mistaken impression until much later in the story.

Oskar and Eli exchange some light-hearted banter about a rumor that the stand owner has sex with women inside his kiosk. Eli’s remarks (“do they have enough room in there . . . they must be skinny”) suggest that she has some concept of what sexual intercourse entails. This comes as no great surprise, considering the adults she has probably encountered over her two centuries of existence. More importantly, between them the notion remains nothing more than a joke; innocence is seemingly preserved. Eli, as we learn later in the novel, is familiar with the darker aspects of human sexuality, but must, of course, keep this knowledge to herself. Revealing any of it to Oskar would most probably lead to uncomfortable questions that would threaten their friendship. This is therefore another side of herself that she must conceal.

When Oskar and Eli return to their courtyard, Oskar reads Eli’s body language as desiring to be comforted, and he gets up the courage to hug her. The text offers no clear explanation of why Eli is suddenly feeling downcast. Maybe she was thinking that she would need to leave Oskar soon in order to be ready when Håkan returned. Or, perhaps, she had begun to contrast the fun she was having with Oskar with the hard and dreary realities of her existence that she knew she would have to face later that night (i.e., the promise she made to Håkan); realities that she detests and believes she will always need to keep secret, necessarily limiting her friendship with Oskar to something that is fragile, artificial, and ultimately temporary.

In any event, anyone who can remember what their first “romantic” hug felt like can relate to the feelings Oskar experiences after he finds it within himself to embrace Eli:

She glanced to the side, folded her arms around her body, and looked really little. Oskar wanted to put his arm around her but didn't dare.

In the covered entrance leading to the courtyard Eli stopped and looked at her window. It was dark. She stopped with her arms wrapped around her body and stared at the ground.

"Oskar?..."

He did it. Her whole body was asking for it and from somewhere he got the courage to do it. He hugged her. For a terrifying second he thought he had done the wrong thing, her body was stiff, locked. He was about to let go when she relaxed into his embrace. The knot loosened and she coaxed her arms out, put them around his back and leaned trembling against him.

She leaned her head against his shoulder and they stood like that. Her breath against his shoulder. They held each other without saying anything. Oskar closed his eyes and knew: this was big. Light from the outside lamp filtered in through his closed eyelids and created a red membrane in front of his eyes. The biggest.

I do not think I will ever grow tired of reading the beautiful description of Eli’s response to Oskar’s hug.

Although written with reference to the film adaptation, in which Eli actually attempts to eat the candy Oskar offers, the fan fiction that has been shared in this forum serves as a good way to describe what Eli must have been feeling at this moment of close, genuine, human contact with Oskar:

Wolfchild, Voices Alone:

This just sucks. What are you doing? Why are you coming close? Get low. Spring upward into his throat. No, I can't hurt you - even if you won't be my friend any more.

Wait, you're just ... hugging me? Why? I feel his heart beating, pumping his blood. You feel bad that I got sick. You want to make me feel better. Why? No one has ever wanted to make me feel better. This feels so nice, just being held close. I guess you do still like me. I wish I could tell you what I really am.

Sauvin, Oskar Hugs Eli Behind the Candy Store:

He's got his arms around me, pushing me back. Oh, we're going to wrestle? Why are we going to wrestle? Is he mad I got sick from his candy? Why... ?

What the hell!? He's hugging me! He's got his arms around me! He's just holding me!

Does he want... ? No, wait, he doesn't smell like that. He doesn't want to hit me, and he doesn't want to touch me. I think I might let him, if it's what he really wanted, if that's what it takes for him to keep being my friend, but...

He's just holding me!

My own description from Reflections at Dawn:

There's no way I'm giving up on Oskar. Not after tonight. (behind that kiosk) I don't care what Håkan says, even if he may be right.

(happily) He hugged me. Not just my body, like Håkan--me. That's a first. I would eat a thousand pieces of candy to be held like that again. I would . . . die to be held like that again.

(sighs) Can't stop thinking about that. Don't want to stop thinking about it, or to ever forget it, as long as I live. He cares about me!

. . .

I'm so . . . happy.

But of course, no happiness that Eli is allowed to experience can come without a price, and now we learn something new about her condition: that she is not fully in control of her vampire nature:

Eli nuzzled her head in closer toward his neck. The heat from her breath grew more intense. Muscles in her body that had been relaxed grew tense again. Her lips nudged his throat and a shiver ran through his body.

Suddenly she shuddered and broke away, took a step back. Oskar let his arms fall. Eli shook her head as if to free herself from a nightmare, turned, and started walking to her door.

As much as Eli finds pleasure in Oskar’s embrace, the mere proximity of his warm, exposed neck to her mouth brings out the vampire in her. Clearly, Eli is repulsed by her own reaction. She has made up her mind that she does not want to kill Oskar and, in a very poignant way, she struggles to retain her humanity. She has no choice but to pull away from an experience that she surely would have wanted to continue much longer: an honest-to-goodness hug from someone who cares about her, and who appears prepared to accept her without reservations or qualifications.

But even though Eli is forced to withdraw from Oskar, she clings to the hope that she can keep her friendship alive. If she did not, she would not have had the courage to ask Oskar, with all earnestness, whether he liked her. And not only whether he likes her (of course, he does--one can almost imagine Oskar saying to himself, Are you kidding? I’m crazy about you!), but also,

"If I turned out not to be a girl . . . would you still like me?"

It might be debatable whether, up to this point, Eli had risked anything in her relationship with Oskar, but now she was gambling quite a bit. Eli clearly understands that if her friendship continues, at some point Oskar might very well discover that Eli is not really Eli, and so she chooses this moment to lay a little groundwork for eventually breaking the news to Oskar.

Oskar, swept away in the “biggest” moment he’s ever experienced in any kind of relationship apart from his parents, is just not too concerned. One can readily imagine many responses that would have been much less accepting than his “Yes, I guess so.” Fortunately for Eli, fate--in the form of Oskar’s mother at the window—intervenes, saving her from having to explain her question. In the moment of Oskar’s distraction she disappears, presumably on her way “to that aunt she had in the city where she went after school.”

October 29 – 30; Eli Sleeps Over

The novel never explains where, exactly, Eli went on the evening of October 29 after departing from Oskar, except that she does not initially return to her apartment. Later that evening, Oskar watches for Håkan, whom Eli has told Oskar is out getting her food. But instead of seeing Håkan (who is at the gym, trying to procure yet more blood for Eli), Oskar sees Eli leave her apartment around ten o’clock. Still later, around 11, Oskar tries in vain to communicate with her through his wall. It may be, perhaps, that hoping Håkan would return, Eli returned to her apartment after Oskar went inside, and later went looking for Håkan.

On the following day, October 30, we are introduced to Mr. Avila, Oskar’s gym teacher, who is one of the most likeable adults in the story. He is Spanish and a former fighter pilot; a physically strong, mentally tough, no-nonsense person. He is an interesting contrast to Oskar’s father: he is very mature, and has no apparent vices.

In an important way, Mr. Avila’s attitude toward Oskar is much like Eli’s: he wants Oskar to believe that he can do more than he realizes. This is shown when Oskar tries to “tame” the pommel horse, which he dreads. Mr. Avila tells him not to be afraid, and that “everything hangs on his attitude.” Sure enough, once Oskar thinks he can do it, and does not hold himself back on the springboard, he is able to jump over the pommel horse. In fact, Oskar is able to do a better job than a stronger boy with whom he has been partnered.

When Jonny attempts to lasso Oskar and make him behave like a horse, Oskar resists, and, in a David-esque maneuver, throws the jump rope back at Jonny, further proof that with the positive influences of Eli and Mr. Avila, he is able to put up stiffer resistance to his tormentors. Oskar is feeling so much better about himself that he makes plans to attend Mr. Avila’s Thursday evening exercise class at the swimming pool. It seems that Eli and Mr. Avila have almost become Oskar’s surrogate parents. Their encouragement and support provide him the self-confidence that he needs to survive and grow.

Oskar is excited and happy when he becomes aware of the change within himself. No longer afraid to walk down to the kiosk after school, the first thing he wants to do is tell Eli how he feels. And in a short passage that always makes me smile, when Johan rings his doorbell, he immediately thinks “Eli, Eli, Eli”!

Unbeknownst to Oskar, though, Eli has her own troubles. Håkan has been captured by the police. Therefore, she must do her own hunting.

Eli’s encounter with the woman dying of cancer offers valuable insight into the kind of person she is, and the horrific nature of her existence.

Contrasting sharply with the vampires frequently portrayed in popular culture, there is no suggestion that Eli enjoys the killing. The events are described very matter-of-factly, and almost entirely from Eli’s point of view; we are not shown what her victim experiences. Eli actually does a poor job in selecting a victim because the woman suffers from cancer and is taking Morphine. Contrary to the typical situation in which the vampire is shown deriving pleasure in making a kill, everything about the experience is described as unpleasant to Eli--from the angry, hissing cat to the odiferous cheese; from the TV remote being broken over her head, to the rotten, cancerous blood that makes her want to vomit.

Eli is also strangely polite and respectful to the woman. Even as she lies dying from loss of blood and says “please, please,” Eli does not ignore her, but responds, “Yes, what is it you want?” as if they might have been carrying on an amicable conversation. Even more telling, after the woman dies Eli tries to close her eyes, and when that fails, covers her with a blanket. It is not clear whether this is an act of respect, or whether seeing the open, dead eyes of her victim makes Eli uncomfortable.

All of these details point to a person who does not enjoy what she is doing. Eli is a reluctant, child-like vampire. She says things at other points in the story that confirm this. For example, in an early exchange with Håkan, she says that she does not like it:

"I'm still too weak."

"You're not weak."

"Too weak for--that."

"Well, then I don't know. But I won't do it again. It's so-horrible, so...

"I know."

"You don't know. It's different for you, it is . . ."

"What do you know about how it is for me?"

"Nothing, but at least you're . .."

"Do you think I like it?"

"I don't know. Do you?"

"No."

Later, at the hospital, Eli is reluctant to bite Håkan, knowing that she will have to kill him if she does.

Eli leaned close to him, curled up on the windowsill.

"What do you want me to do?"

Håkan moved his hand from her cheek and pointed to his throat.

Eli shook her head.

"That would mean I'd have to kill you . . . after." Håkan took his hand from his throat, brought it back to Eli's face. Rested a finger for a moment on her lips. Then pulled it back. Pointed once more at his throat.

It is also telling that while speaking with Oskar, Eli denies being a “vampire,” describing herself only as someone who lives on blood:

"Are you a vampire?"

She wrapped her arms around her body, slowly shook her head.

"I . . . live on blood. But I am not . . . that."

"What's the difference?"

She looked him in the eyes and said somewhat more forcefully:

"There's a very big difference."

When Oskar shortly thereafter expresses a fear that he might become infected, Eli reassures him that "I don't want to infect anyone. Least of all you." Eli thus views herself as someone quite different from the vampire who made her, a person who enjoyed inflicting his curse on others.

It is apparent from all of this that Eli does not like what she is, and does not want to spread her problem around. Temporarily incapacitated by the Morphine in the woman’s blood, she misses the opportunity to break her neck, as she did with Jocke. Therefore, she sets fire to the woman’s home in an effort to destroy the woman’s body. (This produces a horrific scene of the woman, now a vampire, wandering around outside while on fire.)

It also seems likely that the killing Eli is forced to do in order to live damages her psychologically. Avoiding the mental trauma she experiences may explain why she seeks to manipulate adults to do her work.

Eli tells the woman with cancer that she doesn’t know who she, Eli, is. This is an important admission of how Eli views herself, and ties in closely with her later statement to Oskar that she is “nothing. Not a child. Not old. Not a boy. Not a girl. Nothing.” By being castrated and made into a vampire, Eli has lost her original identity. Although she is 12, she is not really 12 years old, and hence, not a true child; yet, neither is she an adult. Without male genitalia, Eli is no longer a boy; yet, he is not truly a girl, either. The evil inflicted upon Eli has severed him from who he was, and has cast him adrift in a sea of painful uncertainty about his own self-identity. Can Eli reclaim an identity? Perhaps, the story says, if she is loved.

By telling a “beautiful” story to the woman with cancer, Eli also reveals some of the events of her childhood that led up to her becoming a vampire—a story that will be continued later in the novel during a kiss between Eli and Oskar. Eli was the youngest child of a poor farmer, and was the most beautiful child anyone had ever seen. Yet, he “wasn’t good for much.”

The lord who owned the land on which Eli’s parents lived announced a competition that all of the families with boys between 8 and 12 years old were required to enter. It seems fairly clear from his magical manipulation of the dice that the vampire had his eyes on Eli the entire time. He had choosen to take Eli before the “competition” even began.

While under the influence of the Morphine (which is known to cause lightheadedness and sometimes, unusual dreams), Eli passes out in front of her victim’s TV set, and then has a disturbing vision of the vampire lord, who, somewhat comically, is wearing a cowboy hat like one of the characters from “Dallas.” (This raises the question: did the vampire lord look like Jim Davis as “Jock,” or Larry Hagman as J.R.?)

Eli is clearly afraid of the vampire lord. She tries to get away from “His” voice, and “trembles like a baby” upon seeing him. She is afraid that she will feel him clutching her by the neck.

Eli has a terrifying vision that reveals that she is one of many child victims of this powerful vampire:

The man had opened his arms in a gesture of welcome, revealing the red lining of his robe. The lining billowed out; it was swarming, made up of lips. Hundreds of children's lips that writhed painfully, whispering their story, Eli's story.

"Eli . . . come home . . ."

Eli sobbed, shut her eyes. Waited for the cold grip around the neck. Nothing happened. Opened her eyes again. The picture had changed. Now you could see a long line of children in poor clothes wandering over a snowy landscape, waddling in the direction of a castle of ice on the horizon.

The capitalization of the pronouns used to refer to the lord signify the powerful, central role he has played in Eli’s life. He has, in a perverse way, come to occupy a God-like position in her mind. His calling to her suggests that he still exerts influence over her. Perhaps it is an indication that she is always being drawn to his special darkness; is always being tempted to surrender her humanity and become like him. She would then return “home” to him.

This vision also confirms that the vampire lord enjoys inflicting his evil on others, making him quite different from Eli, who does not.

What we learn about Eli and her background is important to understanding the love that she is beginning to experience with Oskar. It tells us that Eli was originally an innocent person, and is the victim, not the author, of her condition. Furthermore, she has not completely surrendered to her vampire nature. She is, essentially, forever at war with her self, constantly attempting to avoid or minimize the evil she must inflict upon the world. Although clearly this is a terrible state of existence, it does give Eli the capacity for self-love, and therefore the ability to accept the love of another person. It also means that Eli retains some residue of hope and courage that she might be able to love another person; might be able to find another person who could relieve her deep, long-standing loneliness.

On the night of October 30, Oskar anxiously waits for Eli, but she does not come. Ironically, he ends up watching the same “Dallas” TV program with his mother than Eli sees in her victim’s home. His mother is suspicious; she asks him what he has been doing. Oskar almost tells her about Eli, but does not.

Finally, in his bedroom after midnight, Oskar opens his window, hoping that Eli might call to him in the middle of the night. He admits to himself that his decision to fight back against the bullies was made “for her sake.” He fears that if she leaves him, he will revert to his former self. Oskar is so worried about Eli that he prays for her return to him; his prayer will soon be answered.

What motivated Eli to come to Oskar’s room in the middle of the night? In the film, Eli flies to Oskar’s apartment immediately after killing Håkan, whereas, in the novel, Eli has just finished setting fire to the home of the woman with cancer. Eli herself tells Oskar that her “dad” has gone, and that she came because she was lonely. This seems likely to be the truth. Eli does not yet know what has happened to Håkan; all she knows is that he has left and has not returned as planned, forcing her to go out on her own. Her encounter with the woman with cancer was less than ideal, and because of the Morphine, she was brought back face to face with the terrifying creature who made her what she is. Undoubtedly, from Eli’s perspective, she was in need of a little comforting, comforting that perhaps only a vampire like Eli could understand. Oskar was the only person who offered the promise of what Eli needed.

Eli cannot expect Oskar to come out of his apartment in the middle of the night, nor can she enter his apartment in the usual way without waking Oskar’s mom. Therefore, Eli chooses to attempt entry into Oskar’s room via his window, which (somewhat conveniently) Oskar has left open.

Because Eli is not yet prepared to reveal her nature to Oskar, she must not allow him to see her, hovering outside his window. Therefore, she instructs him to stay in bed and close his eyes as she enters. Oskar dutifully complies.

Oddly, Eli chooses to enter Oskar’s bedroom completely naked. The novel does not explain her choice. One possibility is that her clothes were blood-stained, and reeked even more of gasoline than her hands.

It might also be that Eli is not as self-conscious about being unclothed as an “ordinary” preadolescent child. She has, after all, had two centuries to grow used to her body, and she is well aware of her incredible strength and abilities. Clothes are usually viewed as a source of warmth, comfort, and security. Eli, however, is impervious to cold, and has no reason to fear anyone. The comfort she desires—love and affection from Oskar--cannot be derived from clothing; in fact, the latter could only impede it.

And so, Eli creeps completely nude into Oskar’s bed, and curls into a ball behind his back. Then follows one of the sweetest passages of the novel:

A cold hand crept over his stomach and found its way to his chest, over his heart. He put both his hands over it, warming her hand. Eli's other hand worked its way under his armpit then up over his chest and in between his hands. Eli turned her head and laid her cheek between his shoulder blades.

In this moment, Eli’s wish has been fulfilled. Oskar has invited her into his room, she has successfully entered without detection by his mother, and Oskar has, with no hesitation, allowed her to hold him in her arms and then warms her hands with his. It is a beautiful, touching moment in which Eli is not being used or abused, and is experiencing not mere friendship, but a form of love, unfettered and freely given. The significance of this to both of them, whether consciously recognized or not, probably cannot be easily measured.

Yet, even as happy as she is, we are reminded that Eli cannot escape herself. The accusing smell of gas is on her hands, and when her lips “tickle” Oskar’s shoulder, she is forced once again to abandon her embrace and roll away. The novel tells us that this is not what Eli desires, because later, just before Oskar falls asleep, she asks, "Can't we lie down together again like we did before?"

But happily for her, Eli is not denied Oskar’s companionship. He is not too troubled by her nudity, and raises no questions about how she has managed to get in through his window. The joking about the man in the kiosk and the games they play together (Bulleribock, and Rock, Paper, Scissors) remind us that these are children, and that their feelings for each other are innocent and child-like.

At one point, Oskar describes his favorite book, “The Fog,” to Eli. In this story, a mysterious fog arises from an earthquake crack, causing people to go insane and commit horrendous and extremely violent acts. We are not told what Eli’s reaction to Oskar’s synopsis was, or to his admission that it is his favorite story. Did Eli find herself biting her tongue, trying not to tell him how horrible some of the things he found so interesting really are? It is easy to imagine that she must have found it difficult to restrain herself, particularly after what she had done that very evening, not too far away in Ängby.

The most important thing that occurs during the sleepover is that Oskar finds the courage to ask Eli if she will “go out” with him, and, after obtaining clarification that going out means acting “just like normal,” Eli agrees. Eli learns that what Oskar wants does not even involve kissing, an offer that he emphatically rejects. Eli is puzzled; she asks Oskar whether there is anything else, and he says no.

Looking at their exchange as an adult, it is almost humorous; taken literally, it seems as though Eli has committed to little, if anything, by Oskar’s definition of “going out.” The simplicity of what Oskar wants confounds Eli, but when she finally understands it, it turns out to be just what she was looking for, too. Something important has happened: they have openly acknowledged to each other that they want to be together. When the dust settles, Eli says, “we can be together.” She wants to be with Oskar, and he wants to be with her. They hold each other. What before could have ended as a passing friendship, now has a future. In a gentle and child-like way, their friendship at the end of this night has moved into the territory that can fairly be called “love.”

Soon, both of them will learn just how seriously they take their commitment to the other--a depth of commitment that puts the adults in the story to shame.

October 31 – November 5: Courtship

Oskar awakes after his first night spent with Eli, incredulous about her departure from his bedroom, naked in subzero weather. He is unable to understand how she got in and out of his window without disturbing the snow on the bushes. For a few moments, he doubts his own memory of her visit. Then he finds Eli’s first note:

THEN WINDOW, LET DAY IN AND LET LIFE OUT

SEE YOU TONIGHT, ELI

Oskar thinks about Eli standing at his desk with no clothes on, writing this note while his Gene Simmons poster “stares” at her. Then he rips the poster down. Why? It is his poster, so he must have liked it when he put it up, and he owns music by “Kiss.” Does he no longer like what the poster says about his tastes, assuming he had even thought about it before? Perhaps he now thinks that the malevolent image of Gene Simmons, with his unnaturally long tongue hanging out, is immature, undignified and obscene in the presence of the love he feels for Eli, and that she feels for him. It could be that love has begun to transform what Oskar finds interesting and important in his life. He does not want to imagine someone looking lasciviously at a person he finds so beautiful, even if it is only a poster.

In any event, Eli’s note is clearly a morale booster. With it and the thoughts of Eli’s love that accompany it, Oskar’s paper delivery will be easy. Later, Lacke sees Oskar delivering his papers and is struck by how happy Oskar looks as he does his job. “That’s how you should be,” thinks he. “Accept your burden and carry it, with joy.”

Oskar and Eli “go steady,” seeing each other every night; presumably, their relationship deepens. Although it would seem logical, there is no indication that Oskar asks Eli how she is able to get into his room through his window, particularly when it is below freezing outside and she was unclothed the first time she did it.

On November 4, Eli again enters Oskar’s room through his window. “They had lain awake for a long time, told each other stories that started where the other person stopped. Then they had fallen asleep with their arms around each other and in the morning Eli was gone.”

After spending a second night in Oskar’s bed, Eli leaves him another note: “I must be gone and live, or stay and die. Yours, Eli.” Having been told by Eli that this is a quote from Romeo & Juliet, Oskar is sufficiently intrigued that he checks out the play from the library.

In Shakespeare’s play, Romeo, a Montague, falls in love with 13-year-old Juliet, a Capulet. Their families hate each other. In a famous scene at Juliet’s balcony, Romeo and Juliet agree to marry. Following the death of Mercutio and Tybalt, Romeo is exiled from Verona and is threatened with death if he returns. Romeo and Juliet secretly spend the night together in Juliet’s bedroom and consummate their marriage.

In Scene III, Act 5, from which Eli has drawn her quotes, Romeo must leave before dawn or he will be discovered and put to death. He says, “I must be gone and live, or stay and die.” Having initially attempted to persuade Romeo that it is a nightingale that they hear so that he will remain, Juliet later concedes that it is the lark, “straining harsh discords and unpleasing sharps.” The approach of dawn is an unpleasant reality that must divide the lovers; the coming light darkens their love.

When Juliet’s nurse announces the approach of her mother, Juliet says, “then, window, let day in, and let life out,” and Romeo departs. To Juliet, then, Romeo is life, and when he climbs down from her room, he figuratively descends into a tomb. Juliet says, “methinks I see thee, now thou art below, As one dead in the bottom of a tomb: Either my eyesight fails, or thou look'st pale.” To which Romeo replies, “and trust me, love, in my eye so do you: Dry sorrow drinks our blood. Adieu, adieu!”

Juliet, seeking to avoid the arranged marriage demanded by her father, takes a drug that makes her appear dead, and believed to be so, is placed into the family crypt. Ignorant of the truth, Romeo drinks poison. Juliet wakes up and, finding Romeo dead, kills herself with his dagger.

The fact that Eli chose to quote from Romeo & Juliet raises some interesting questions about her. When was she first exposed to Shakespeare, and why? It had been around for about two hundred years before she would have been old enough to appreciate it. Is her knowledge simply the product of a unilateral will to learn, or was the play a shared experience with someone in the past? Later, Eli will tell Oskar that he has not had a “normal friendship” with anyone in two hundred years. Does this exclude the possibility of a romance before Oskar came along, and that Eli became exposed to the tragedy during that relationship, a relationship that perhaps ended badly? It would seem hard to believe that Eli had not at least attempted to achieve genuine love with someone before Oskar.

Eli’s knowledge of Romeo & Juliet also reveals that she is not completely preoccupied with keeping her stomach full, and that she has used her spare time to do more than solve puzzles. She has a desire to learn and understand the world around her, and not merely for self-preservation.

Could Eli’s thirst for understanding include a desire to know the nature of love? It would seem quite natural that as part of her desire to be loved, Eli would try to learn about love; to grasp its true meaning. Did Eli want to experience the kind of completely committed love that Romeo and Juliet shared? Could there, in fact, be anything that Eli, in her heart of hearts, desired more than unconditional love?

What did Eli understand from this tragic story about two young “star-cross’d” lovers? Herself a victim of “the world,” she unquestionably would have grasped its overarching theme of young love, tragically defeated by worldly circumstances. Also, she clearly understood enough of the play to select passages from it that, to her, seemed fit her circumstances with Oskar. Like Romeo, she is the “life” that must flee through the window before the dawn, a dawn whose light would surely destroy her just as Romeo would have died had he lingered in Juliet’s bedroom. Eli, quite literally, “must be gone and live, or stay and die.” Her “tomb” is her now-empty apartment--her bathtub--where she lies down and (as we learn from Virginia’s turning), stops breathing, becoming “dead.”

It is also possible that with her second note, Eli was signaling to Oskar that in the not-to-distant future, she would have to leave Blackeberg. At this point in the novel, three people have been killed, and Håkan has gone missing.

Given that she understood what she was quoting and how it applied to her own circumstances, what did Eli expect Oskar to grasp from her notes? Was she attempting to lay some subtle groundwork about her nature as a vampire, so that, when Oskar finally did make the connection, his realization would take place in the context of a lover’s note, thereby, perhaps, softening the blow?

What, if anything, did Romeo & Juliet tell Oskar about love? The fact that he has trouble understanding parts of the play (“Her vestal livery is but sick and green”), and wonders whether Eli understands it, tells us that he does not actually discuss the play with her. Other than the fact that the notes are important because they were written by Eli, we are not told what Oskar thinks about Scene III, Act 5. And he does not yet understand, at this point, how tenuous his relationship with Eli truly is, so it is doubtful that he applied the tragedy inherent in the story to his love affair with Eli. In this sense, then, Oskar is the virginal, youthful hope in whatever exists as Oskar and Eli, the couple. Eli, who also hopes but must live in darkness and tragedy, can fully grasp all of the ways in which their love could end badly.

Oskar clearly thinks that he is in love with Eli, but he is understandably confused about what Eli told him about herself when he asked her to go steady. He therefore seeks out his teacher, Marie-Louise, the only adult “he could think of” to talk with about his situation. Having decided to keep his relationship with Eli a secret from his mother, Oskar feels that he cannot approach her with his questions; nor, evidently, is he comfortable talking with his father. From Oskar’s perspective, his father is probably not the font of wisdom when it comes to the nature of love.

For her part, Marie-Louise seems a bit nonplussed by Oskar’s question, “how do you know when you’re in love?” But she ventures an answer:

"It depends on who you are, but . . . I would say that it's when you know . . . or at least when you really believe that this is the person you always want to be with."

"You mean, when you feel you can't live without that person."

"Yes, exactly. Two who can't live without the other . . . isn't that what love is?"

"Like ‘Romeo and Juliet.’”

"Yes, and the bigger the obstacles . . . have you seen it?"

"Read it."
. . .

They walked a few paces in silence, arrived at the hill that led down to Kvarnviken Bay. Ghost Hill. His teacher drew the smell of pine forest deep into her lungs. Then she said:

"You form a covenant with someone, a union. Regardless of whether you're a boy or a girl you form a covenant saying that . . . that it's you and that person. Something just between the two of you."

So, Oskar is told that love is a commitment between two people who feel strongly that they want to be together. Did this advice influence how he felt about Eli? Did it move him to attempt his ill-fated “pact” with Eli in the basement of his building? To hit Lacke on the head with his Rubik’s Cube? To flee Blackeberg with Eli on the train?

When Jonny and his friends attempt to throw him into a hole in the ice, Oskar fights back and hits Jonny with a stick. He intends to hit him in the shoulder, but Jonny ducks and so Oskar hits his head instead, giving him a concussion. After scaring Micke away, Oskar looks at Jonny lying on the ice and realizes that Jonny is not invincible, after all: “that tiny bleeding bundle on the ice would not be able to do anything to him. Couldn't hit him or tease him. Couldn't even defend itself.”

Oskar is tempted to hit Jonny more until it would be “all over.” Instead, he is nauseated at the realization that he has hurt Jonny so badly that he is bleeding. He removes a sock and gives it to Jonny to hold against his ear. Jonny ends up going to the hospital.

When Oskar’s mom hears about what happened, she feels unable to deal with the situation at school without the support--indeed, the intervention--of Oskar’s father. She calls him and, presumably, expects him to speak sternly with Oskar about the fight, even though she knows that her former husband has not been the best father ("They're going to call me and ask me what I've done wrong . . . oh yes, they will, and what do I say? Sorry, but you see, my boy doesn't have a father and that . . . but live up to it then . . . no, you haven't . . .”).

The conversation that Oskar has with his father is interesting, and confirms what we already know about him. First, it cannot even begin until the marine forecast is over, even though his father has stopped working as a sailor and no longer needs to hear it. Thus, the interests of Oskar’s father, even though they are insignificant, take precedence over dealing with Oskar’s problem. Oskar’s dad is simply incapable of putting his son’s needs ahead of his own.

Second, and more importantly, their conversation alters the impetus for Oskar’s visit to his father’s home before it has even occurred. The father allows Oskar to shorten the visit to a single night without questioning what priorities Oskar might have (seeing Eli) that would be more important than being with his father and thrashing out Oskar's problems. Even more strikingly, the focus is not maintained on the seriousness of what happened to Jonny and the potentially dire consequences; instead, it shifts into comfortably familiar topics—eating duck together and having fun riding the moped.

In this way, Oskar’s father—with Oskar’s complicity—subtly undermines the mother’s concern that what has happened be properly addressed. And at the end of the call, instead of telling her what he will do about Oskar, his father leaves it to Oskar to explain their plans. All of this shows that Oskar’s father is abdicating his responsibilities as a father, and that the visit will probably not seriously address the situation. Oskar realizes this before he has even hung up the telephone. Because he is a child and is therefore focused on avoiding the short-term consequences of his conduct, Oskar is pleased with this outcome. He does not consider the importance of character growth, and the lost opportunity to have a genuine dialogue with his father that could have gotten to the root of his bullying problem.

After the phone call, Oskar leaves to go to the gym. He avoids giving his mother a straight answer about what his father plans to do about the fight, which he now knows is most likely, nothing. His mother, having ceded authority to the father to deal with the problem, is herself now powerless to impose a sanction upon Oskar, and so he is free to go work out at the pool. “His mom looked dismayed, didn't know what to do with her floury hands and stuck them both in the big pocket on the front of the apron.” Oskar knows that he and his father have undermined her desire that, for his own good, his assault upon Jonny be managed properly. The knowledge that he has, in essence, thwarted her in this fashion, coupled with seeing her, still worried, watching him from the window as he leaves makes him cry “half the way to the pool.”

November 5 – 7 (Thursday – Saturday): Tear Down

On the evening of November 5, Eli goes to Oskar’s school and meets him after his workout with Mr. Avila. There is an amusing moment when Oskar and Eli greet each other. Oskar, having concluded that saying “hey there” sounds stupid, says “hi” to Eli. Eli, trying to mimic Oskar’s verbal mannerisms, says “hey.”

Oskar’s self-confidence is growing. Having chased Micke away on the ice, Oskar is giddy at the thought that he might now be afraid of him. Despite his increased self-assurance, Oskar still views himself as different from his peers (“she heard him say good-bye to the others and how they answered as if he was a completely normal person”). He still views himself as a weird outsider, a perception that will endure.

Eli again looks “shriveled.” A week has passed since she consumed the blood of the woman with cancer. Her appearance is so strange (“no one looked like that. Dwarves, maybe”) that Oskar is secretly relieved that she does not greet him in front of the other boys from the gym. Yet, once again, Oskar does not seem to pursue or process the thought in any logical way. At his suggestion, they go to the basement of their apartment complex to play.

Oskar develops the notion of entering a “pact” with Eli. What he desires is not merely symbolic; he wants Eli to magically regain her health. He thinks, “surely there was a little magic in the world. The people who denied the existence of magic, they were the ones that it went badly for.”

Ironically, in a short while it will go badly for just such a person: Virginia, once bitten by Eli, will be transformed into a vampire. As it happens she disputes Lacke’s claim that what attacked her had teeth and claws, and denies the fact of her transformation until she is completely overcome. In her rational, adult world view, vampires do not exist. Oskar’s child-like acceptance of things magical and mysterious leads him much more quickly to the truth.

To what extent was Oskar’s desire to enter a pact with Eli prompted by his conversation with his teacher, Marie-Louise? She told him that love is like a covenant; an exclusive union. The ideas of love and loyalty certainly go hand-in-hand, although they are not the same; the former usually begets the latter. In any event, Oskar wants a closer bond with Eli. He thinks that she needs healing and that becoming “blood brothers” will help her. Later in the novel, Eli will employ the notion of a blood alliance to reciprocate in a way that is much deeper, offering Oskar direct knowledge of her past, and thus, who she is.

Eli’s involuntary revealing of her vampire nature in response to Oskar’s bloody hand, which ironically results from Oskar’s kindness, is perhaps the single most pivotal event in the story. It tears down Oskar’s perception of her, forcing him to come to grips with her strangeness which, until now, he ignored or explained away. Although what happens is Eli’s worst nightmare, it actually allows their relationship to grow and deepen in a way that would not have occurred absent a truthful understanding of each other. In short, Oskar will rebuild his understanding of Eli, and so this event will ultimately lead to his unconditional acceptance of her.

Just before this event, Oskar tells Eli about his triumph over Jonny and Micke earlier that day. When Oskar snaps on the light to see Eli’s reaction to the news, he observes that for a brief moment before she blinks, her eyes are elliptical, cat-like. Yet, he says nothing. Eli then dubs Oskar the “Knight of Ängby Maybe” with a plastic sword to celebrate his victory, but she will not play the beautiful maiden to be rescued by him; instead, in an ironic twist, she is the “terrible monster who ate beautiful maidens for lunch.”

It is difficult to imagine anything more provocative Oskar could have done than to wave his bleeding hand in front of Eli. Whereas at the beginning of the novel his fateful hand saved him from Eli with its caress, it now almost brings about his destruction:

He held his bleeding hand toward her. Her eyes widened. She shook her head violently while she crawled backward, away from his hand.

"No, Oskar . . ."

"What is it?"

"Oskar, no."

"It almost doesn't hurt at all."

Eli stopped backing up, staring at his hand while she kept shaking her head. Oskar was holding the knife by the blade in his other hand, held it out to her handle first.

"You only have to prick yourself in a finger or something. Then we'll mix our blood. And then we have our pact."

Eli did not take the knife. Oskar put it down on the floor so he could catch a drop of blood that fell from his wound.

"Come on. Don't you want to?"

"Oskar . . . we can't. You would be infected, you--"

"It doesn't feel like that, it . . ."

A ghost flew into Eli's face, distorting it into something so different from the girl he knew that he completely forgot about catching the blood that dropped from his hand. She now looked like the monster they had recently pretended that she was and Oskar jumped back while the pain in his hand intensified.

"Eli, what . . ."

She sat up, pulled her legs under her, crouched on all fours, and stared straight at his bleeding hand, took a step closer toward it. Stopped, clenched her teeth, and got out a gruff: "Leave!"

Tears of fear welled up in Oskar's eyes. "Eli, stop it. Stop playing. Stop it."

Eli crawled a bit closer, stopped again. She forced her body to contort itself so her head was lowered to the ground and screamed:
"Go! Or you'll die!"

Oskar got up, took a few steps back. His feet hit against the bag of bottles so it fell over, with a clinking sound. He flattened himself against the wall while Eli crawled over to the little smear of blood that had fallen from his hand.

Another bottle fell over and broke against the concrete floor while Oskar stood pressed against the wall and stared at Eli, who stretched out her tongue and licked the dirty concrete, whisked her tongue around on the place where blood had fallen.

A bottle clinked softly and stopped moving. Eli licked and licked the floor. When she lifted her face to him there was a gray smear of dirt on the tip of her nose. "Go . . . please . . . leave."

Then the ghost flew into her face again, but before it had time to take over she got up and ran down the corridor, opened the door to her stairwell, and disappeared.

The image of Eli licking blood off the filthy concrete floor, looking up at her new friend with dirt on her nose, and begging him to leave is extremely pathetic, and evokes a great deal of sympathy for her, notwithstanding her barely controlled aggression. One is reminded of the degrading scene in A Clockwork Orange when Alex DeLarge, having been subjected to the "Ludivico Technique,” is forced to lick the sole of a man’s boot. In both circumstances we see a person who is made to perform a degrading, dehumanizing act because of some external force. Although we are not told how Eli felt after this horrifying episode, clearly this is not how she had hoped things would go with Oskar. In fact, short of killing him, it is difficult to imagine how things could have gone worse.

But, on the other hand, what did Eli expect? Did she seriously believe that things could go on as they had, with Oskar never discovering her secret? Although delving into Eli’s unique mind is never easy, the answer is, probably not. Like an adult embarking upon a new relationship with an intriguing stranger, she probably feared (and not without reason, it would seem) that if Oskar knew of her secret from the start, he could never love her. So, she did her best to appear as normal as possible, hoping that if circumstances allowed, Oskar’s affection for her might deepen to a point at which she could reveal herself to him in a non-threatening way, and that he might find it in his heart to love her.

Was Eli’s hope realistic? Maybe not. Does it demonstrate an inner core of humanity? Most certainly. Oskar thinks after the basement episode that Eli revealed her “true face.” But as it turns out, he is wrong. The vampire is not Eli’s true face; there is a person, Elias, who existed before being turned and is desperately searching for a life with someone who genuinely loves him. This person will become the best and most perfect friend and lover that Oskar will ever have.

It is clear from the text that Eli strived mightily not to kill Oskar in the basement--forcing herself to look at the floor, rather than at his hand, and fleeing when Oskar did not leave. This itself can be viewed as a pure act of love for him—a raw exercise of willpower while she was in extremis that saved him from what, for all intents and purposes, should have been certain death.

The control Eli displays, however, can only be maintained for a short time, and the event acts as a sort of trigger; shortly afterwards, she goes hunting in Blackeberg. She studies some women exercising in a gym as potential victims (“warm, oxygenated blood streaming through thirsty muscles”), and eventually roosts in a large tree to await a victim. It is at this point that we are first explicitly told about her ability to transform parts of her body at will, and just how monstrous and inhuman she can become. Unlike the scene at the home of the woman with cancer, there is nothing sympathetic in the description of Eli at this time. She is pure monster, and the symbolism of being inhuman is plainly described: “slithering” up a fire escape; hanging down from a rooftop like a “dark pendulum”; a “falling shadow” to land on Virginia, and then a “black mass” crawling on her. When Lacke comes to Virginia’s rescue, we are given a chilling description of what Eli has become:

Virginia lay completely still; there were dark stains on the white ground. The black thing sat up.

A child.

Lacke stood there staring into the prettiest little child's face imaginable, framed by a veil of black hair. A pair of enormous dark eyes met his.

The child got up on all fours, cat-like, preparing to lunge. The face changed as the child drew back its lips and Lacke could see the rows of sharp teeth glow in the dark.

They remained like this for a few panting breaths, the child on all fours, and Lacke could now see that its fingers were claws, sharply defined against the snow.

Then a grimace of pain contorted the child's face, she got up on two legs and ran off in the direction of the school with long rapid steps. A few seconds later she reached the shadows and was gone.

It is interesting to speculate about whether the basement incident altered Eli’s predatory behavior. Whereas before she ranged all the way to Ängby, she is now hunting literally in her own back yard. Would she have done this had her appetite not been whetted by Oskar’s bloody hand?

This consideration leads to another thought: that Eli is not above the workings of chance and fate; she is just as much a victim of circumstance as everyone else. She is not a supremely powerful being who can direct all events; instead, she fumbles through the story like a child. She drinks the blood of a woman on morphine, and is therefore forced to burn her house down to prevent her from becoming a vampire. Her killing of Håkan is interrupted by the guard; he therefore becomes a zombie and begins to hunt her down. Oskar waves his bloody hand in her face; she therefore goes out, attacks Virginia, and is spotted by Lacke. And so on.

What did Oskar think about the Eli’s transformation in the basement? He goes off to visit his father, as planned. Just as Eli had feared, he is now afraid of her and does not want to see her again. He is prepared to push her away if she tries to come back. “There was something in her, something that was . . . Pure Horror. Everything you were supposed to watch out for. Heights, fire, shards of glass, snakes. Everything that his mom tried so hard to keep him safe from.” What before he had felt only subconsciously—that it would be a bad idea for Eli to meet his mother—now becomes a conscious thought.

Yet, things are not all bad for Eli—because notwithstanding his fear, Oskar still brings her love notes with him. And she never entirely leaves his mind, either. A girl who gets on his bus reminds him of Eli, and it is at this moment that, with a huge piece of the puzzle now revealed, the gears in his head finally begin to turn:

What's wrong with her?

The thought had come to him even as he was in the cellar gathering the bottles together and wiping the blood away with a piece of cloth from the garbage: that Eli was a vampire. That explained a lot of things.

That she was never out in the daytime.

That she could see in the dark; he had come to understand that she could.

Plus a lot of other things: the way she talked, the cube, her flexibility, things that of course could have a natural explanation . . . but then there was also the way that she had licked his blood from the floor, and what really made him shiver was when he thought about the:

"Can I come in? Say that I can come in."

That she had needed an invitation to come into his room, to his bed. And he had invited her in. A vampire. A being that lived off other peoples' blood. Eli. There was not one person who he could tell. No one would believe him. And if someone did believe him, what would happen?

Oskar imagined a caravan of men walking through Blackeberg, in through the covered entrance where he and Eli had hugged, with sharpened stakes in their hands. He was afraid of Eli now, didn't want to see her anymore, but he didn't want that.

The description of Oskar at his father’s home is very poignant, and confirms that life for both Oskar and Eli is spiritually impoverished. True to the phone call that preceded it, they quickly fall into their comfort zone. Not surprisingly, the moment to address Oskar’s problems comes and passes, never to return:

His dad looked out over the water, stood there quietly for a while.

"You know, I've been thinking about something."

"Yes?"

It was coming now. Mom had told Oskar that she let Dad know in no uncertain terms that he had to talk to him about what happened with Jonny. And actually Oskar wanted to talk about it. Dad was at a secure distance from it all, wouldn't interfere in any way. His dad cleared his throat, gathered himself. Breathed out. Looked over the water. Then he said: "Yes, I was thinking . . . do you have any ice skates?"

It seems that to Oskar, returning to his father’s home is like being in a time warp. We are told that Oskar’s parents divorced when he was four, and his room at his dad’s appears just as it was when he was seven. It is essentially unchanged. Oskar finds it a source of comfort; he has many happy memories of time spent with his father there. Yet, there is no growth, either; and we know from his father’s flawed character that the likelihood of maturation for Oskar under his father’s guidance is very slim. His father has never grown up.

All of this is most tragically illustrated when Oskar, having decided to leave, encounters his old boots. It is difficult to read this and not be touched by the emotions that Oskar feels:

He turned to go, saw something, stopped.

On the shoe rack in the hall were his old rubber boots, the ones he had worn when he was four or five. They had been there as long as he could remember, even though there was no one who could use them. Next to them were his dad's enormous Tretorn boots, one of them with a patch on the heel like the kind you use to fix bicycle tires.

Why had he kept them?

Oskar knew why. Two people grew up out of the boots with their backs to him. His dad's broad back, and next to it Oskar's thin one. Oskar's arm upstretched, his hand in Dad's. They walked in their boots up over a boulder, maybe on their way to pick raspberries.

He suppressed a sob, tears rising in his throat. He stretched out his hand to touch the small boots. A salvo of laughter came from the living room. Janne's voice, distorted. Probably imitating someone, he was good at that.

Oskar's fingers closed over the top of the boots. Yes. He didn't know why but it felt right. He carefully opened the front door, closed it behind him. The night was icy cold, the snow a sea of tiny diamonds in the moonlight.

He started to walk up to the main road, with the boots tightly clasped in his hands.

Once the father’s friend, Janne, comes over, the fun that Oskar is having with his dad ends. Apparently, Janne has known Oskar’s father for a long time; in the film, when Lacke and his friends see Håkan drinking a glass of milk in the Chinese restaurant, Lacke mentions that Håkan and his kid have moved in to “Janne’s old place.” Oskar has met Janne before, and thinks of him as his “enemy” because of what happens to his father when Janne is present.

Everything about Janne is described in animalistic terms. His flapping socks are “deformed flippers”; he has a “sheep grin,” and looks like “an old sheep.” He has a skin disorder that makes his skin flake off, and makes his face look like a “rotten blood orange.” Oskar finds him revolting.

Once they are drunk together, Janne and Oskar’s father behave like animals, too. Singing along to a song by “The Deep Brothers” that Oskar knows only too well, they begin imitating animals as they “get packed.” To Oskar, being labeled "piggy" is a mark of humiliation; yet, his own father is all to willing to behave like one.

Oskar’s reaction to his father’s behavior, and his decision to leave his father’s home, are wonderfully described. Under the influence of alcohol, Oskar’s dad becomes, in Oskar’s mind, not merely an animal, but a werewolf, a completely different person who occupies the same body as his father’s. Oskar also knows that once his drinking buddy has left, his father will want to speak with him and that when this happens, their roles will be reversed. His dad will behave like a petulant, angry child, and Oskar is deeply frightened by his father’s loss of control.

Faced with these prospects, Oskar decides to flee back home, but not to his mother—to Eli. “Which monster do you choose?” Although Eli is definitely strange, and might even be a vampire, Oskar knows how she feels about him; knows that she is “something extra special.” He chooses her over his father.

One gets the impression that it is perhaps the first time in his life that Oskar has made his own decision about something; has taken matters into his own hands and chosen what, to him, was the better path. He is, in essence, taking his first steps toward adulthood. Whereas before he found the greatest comfort protected by his apartment complex, or in the confines of a basement, he now strikes out on his own adventure, figuratively breaking out of the womb, breaking free of the empty world his parents’ failed marriage has made for him. And although it is scary, Oskar is excited and happy, too. “Now Oskar was the one who decided where he was going and the moon shone kindly down on him, lighting up his way. He lifted his hand in greeting and started to sing.”

The anxious anticipation and elation that Oskar experiences at Eli’s door is heartfelt and beautifully described.

What will she look like?

He walked up the sloping yard, glancing at his own dark window. The normal Oskar was lying in there, sleeping. Oskar . . . pre-Eli. The one with the Pissball in his underpants. That was something he had done away with, didn't need any longer.

Oskar unlocked the door to his building and walked through the basement corridor over to hers, did not stop to see if the stain was still on the floor. Just walked past it. It didn't exist any longer. He had no mom, no dad, no earlier life, he was simply . . . here. He walked through the door, up the stairs.

Stood there on the landing, looking at the worn wooden door, the empty name plate. Behind that door.

He had imagined he was going to dash up the stairs, make a dive for the bell. Instead he sat down on the next to last step, next to the door.

What if she didn't want him to come?

After all, she was the one who had run away from him. She would maybe tell him to go away, that she wanted to be left alone, that she . . .
The basement storage room. Tommy's gang.

He could sleep there, on the couch. They weren't there at night, were they? Then he could see Eli tomorrow evening, like normal.

But it won't be like normal.

He stared at the doorbell. Things would not simply return to normal. Something big had to be done. Like running away, hitchhiking, making your way home in the middle of the night to show that it was . . . important. What he was scared of was not that maybe she was a creature who survived by drinking other people's blood. No--it was that she might push him away.

He rang the bell.

A shrill sound rang out inside the apartment, stopped abruptly when he let go of the button. He stood there, waiting. Rang it again, longer this time. Nothing. Not even a sound.

She wasn't home.

Oskar sat still on the step while disappointment sank like a stone to his stomach. And he suddenly felt so tired, so very tired. He got up slowly, walked down the stairs. Halfway down he had an idea. Stupid, but why not. Walked up to her door again and with short and long tones of the doorbell he spelled out her name in Morse code.

Short. Pause. Short, long, short, short. Pause. Short, short. E . . . L . . . I . . .

Waited. No sound from the other side. He turned to leave when he heard her voice.

"Oskar? Is that you?"

And so it was, after all; joy exploded inside his chest like a rocket blasting off through his mouth with an altogether too-loud:
"Yes!"

Question: could Oskar ever have run away with Eli after the pool if he had not run away from his father’s home first?