The meaning becomes clear when Dr. Lecter begins to question Clarissa about her childhood. The girl talks about her life on the ranch with her uncle after the death of her father. She was only 10 years old when she witnessed the heartbreaking scene of the slaughter of little lambs. Wanting to save at least one of them, Clarissa ran away from the ranch at night with a lamb in her arms. But the girl was found and returned home, and her lamb was killed. The cry of the lambs has haunted Agent Starling ever since. But she believes that once she solves the case, finds the maniac and frees his victim, her childhood lambs will be silenced. This is the meaning of her life and the meaning of the title of the book and the film.