The Silence of the Lambs Respect and Reputation Quotes

Clarice wants to impress Jack Crawford because he's like a father figure to her. Lecter is, too, in a way, but Crawford is a person Clarice can actually look up to. Their relationship is not romantic, despite what Lecter suggests earlier.

This is one of the last things Jack Crawford says to Clarice in the movie, giving her exactly what she wanted for the whole movie: respect from her father. But her father is dead, so this surrogate father will just have to work.