The Concept Of Transformation And Will As Hannibal's Muse, Explored Through La Primavera

The concept of transformation and Will as Hannibal's muse, explored through La Primavera

I. Hannibal's Simonetta

So I remembered briefly seeing this reddit post a few years ago (pre-joining the fandom) about Simonetta and Hannibal. I remembered it just now and although I don't remember much of what it actually said, it got me thinking.

--

In the scene above, Hannibala and Will are admiring a painting in the Uffizi Gallery in Italy. Hung up behind Will is a painting of a woman called Simonetta Vespucci, called Portrait of a young woman. It was created by Sandro Botticelli, an Italian painter who lived in Florence during the late 15th century. On the other side, hung up behind Hannibal, is another is a painting done by Botticelli.

The story goes that Botticelli was in love with Simonetta, a noblewoman, who was wed to another noble. Botticelli couldn't be with her, but he was still so infatuated with her that he painted her portrait multiple times (Portrait of a Young Woman, La Bella Simonetta) and incorporated her likeness into many of his famous works (The birth of Venus, La Primavera).

Simonetta had an important place in Botticelli's life. She couldn't be with him, but she still influenced him, and influenced his art - much like Will did with Hannibal, although in a slightly different way. Will is not yet "his", yet right from the beginning Hannibal starts to tailor his tableaus with Will in mind as a clear influence. Marissa Schurr, to show him what he was missing. The copycat kills and the judge from the courthouse, to free him from prison. Anthony Dimmond at the end, displayed as the broken heart Hannibal had torn out of his chest in an offer to Will.

All of them, in some way, were dedicated to Will. Will is incorporated into Hannibal's work - he is the art that which their deaths have been elevated to. Will, as seen through the scene's shot composition, is sitting on the side of Simonetta's portrait. He is the Simonetta to Hannibal's Botticelli.

II. Arriva La Primavera

The actual painting that Will and Hannibal admire in the scene above is called La Primavera, also painted by Botticelli. The rightmost side of the painting depicts Chloris, a nymph, and Zephyrus, the god of the west wind. Zephyrus is seen coming onto Chloris, who has flowers streaming from her mouth. They appear in the writing of Orvid's Metamorphoses, where it's said that Zephyrus, seeing her potential, fell in love with Chloris and won her heart. He then kidnaps and marries her, where he transforms her into Flora, the goddess of flowers. Flowers begin to stream out of her mouth, signifying the coming of spring and her transformation into a god.

Much like Zephyrus, Hannibal sees the potential of Will and comes onto him pretty intensely, starting with his psychoanalysis in Apéritif ("I imagine what you see and learn touches everything else in your mind,") where the script describes the scene as "Hannival has just described Will Graham to a letter..."

As the story progresses, we see Will undergoing transformation by Hannibal's hand, who we know wants to see him Become. Will descends into darkness, where his hands that grasp at the frayed edges of normalcy begin to slip. They start to slip at the very first instances of meeting Hannibal, where he states that he liked killing Hobbs in their first therapy session. Over time, we see him start to grow more comfortable with his darkness to the point where in Shiizakana he admits regret to not taking a life ("I regret what I did in the stables... Allowing you to stop me was a mistake.")

His transformation culminates in the acceptance of his dark nature, first by telling Hannibal "I don't know if I can save myself, and maybe that's fine," and then killing Dolarhyde with him, which he calls beautiful.

Hannibal transformed him into someone beautiful, someone he sees akin to a god. He transforms will into his Flora.