The knowledge of why he's the monster he is, is something I'd expect in any villain. I just don't like them turning all softie. Once they turn to who they are, I like them to stay that way.
But that's my own taste
I remember from the film how he was like with Clarice. Then again you could say Will, and Lecter's psychiatrist (forgot her name), both bring out another side of Lecter too. Even Alana does. But not in the same way Abigail does. I find that too extreme for his character and doesn't fit him, and it's why I still want to hope he's treating her the way he does for his selfish needs.
Is Abigail in the books at all? Still hoping she dies soon. lol
). 
I guess we can agree to disagree. From my perspective, it's not the first time Hannibal has manipulated someone to get them to act how he wants them to act, even at a detriment to their own interests. That's pretty much what he does for four books. It's also not like the neurologist is someone he picked out of the phone book. They'd known each other since Johns Hopkins. I know what Hannibal did in med school in France, and he only grew more deranged when he left Europe, so I can only imagine the exploits he would've gotten into with a friend who also walked the moral tightrope. Especially if that friend had been manipulated by Hannibal from the start.