The Silent Patient

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Epigraph-Part 1, Chapters 1-4

Part 1, Chapters 5-10

Part 2, Chapters 1-5

Part 2, Chapters 6-10

Part 2, Chapters 11-21

Part 2, Chapters 22-34

Part 3

Part 4, Chapters 1-8

Part 4, Chapters 9-14

Part 4, Chapters 15-21

Part 5, Chapters 1-3

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Book Club Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Alcestis

The Euripedes play Alcestis is the dominant symbol in The Silent Patient and takes many forms. The figure of Alcestis itself is a clear representation of Alicia. Both women face betrayals by their husbands when their husbands favor their own lives over their wives’. Alicia’s choice to sign her self-portrait with “ALCESTIS” highlights her recognition of this symbolic relevance. Alcestis represents “the silent patient,” the woman scorned, the person betrayed. She is voiceless, but her silence alone is a message, expressing disappointment, hurt, and rage. In this sense, she also speaks to the power of non-verbal communication, embodying the adage that sometimes a person speaks loudest when they say nothing at all.

Alcestis is not just the character but also the name of the play, which Alicia sees with Jean-Felix, and Theo reads. The Silent Patient begins with an epigraph, a quote from the play: “But why does she not speak?” The tragedy itself is symbolically relevant in light of the theme of betrayal. By building a narrative around Alcestis—the woman, the self-portrait, and the story itself—the novel strongly aligns itself with the tradition of tragedy, full of murders, suicides, and mistaken identities—all cornerstones of many a tragic work.

Drama/Theater

Alcestis is not the only piece of theater referenced in the novel. The Silent Patient makes numerous allusions to theatrical works. Kathy is an actress, rehearsing a production of Othello, a tragedy ending in a murder and suicide. Lazarus quotes William Congreve’s The Mourning Bride, another tragedy resulting in a mistaken murder and suicide. Part 3 begins with a Shakespeare quote from The Winter’s Tale, considered a "problem play" in terms of categorization because the first acts are a psychological drama while the last acts provide a comedic happy ending.

Such references speak to a central theme running throughout the novel—the human tendency to present a certain face to the world, often a false façade. People put on a mask and an act—like Theo’s act for Kathy that suggests everything is fine. These allusions also offer moments of foreshadowing. Take the Othello reference: In this tragedy, Othello strangles his wife Desdemona to death, mistakenly believing her to be an adulteress. After realizing Desdemona's innocence, Othello stabs another man, Iago, to death, blaming him for the error, and then kills himself. This allusion thus foreshadows the violence to come in the novel, which is set off by Theo’s jealousy. Theo himself remarks on the irony that Kathy is rehearsing for the role of Desdemona and even wonders briefly whether her sexy emails with her lover were part of her preparation, rehearsing a character—until he notes that she signed the emails “Kathy” and not “Desdemona.”

Alicia’s Paintings

Various characters discuss a number of Alicia’s paintings throughout the narrative, each one providing insights into Alicia’s relationships. The significance of her art speaks to the power of non-verbal communication. The first painting the narrative focuses on is the Alcestis self-portrait, created days after Gabriel’s death. Alicia depicts herself nude, indicating her vulnerable state, and holding a paintbrush dripping red—suggesting the violence that has just ensued. Later, when Theo examines the portrait more closely, he notices that there is a shadowy figure, a man lurking, in the background. He also notices that the bowl of red apples has small white maggots on it. These unsavory details give a peek into Alicia’s mental state and also show how she uses her painting to try to communicate non-verbally, showing the world her stalker, although she does not tell the world about the stalker aloud.

Jean-Felix shows Theo three more of Alicia’s paintings at the gallery. The first is of the car accident that killed Alicia’s mother. The second is the painting of Jesus on the cross—with “Jesus” being Gabriel. The third is that of Alicia’s aunt, Lydia, showing her morbidly obese and nude on a sagging bed. In each instance, Alicia’s relationship to the person depicted is clear. Her mother is just a ghost to her, while she idolizes Gabriel—and despises Lydia. Finally, there is the painting Alicia creates of Theo and herself, running in front of The Grove as it burns, likewise suggesting the complexity of her relationship with Theo, who notes, “I couldn’t tell if I were depicted in the act of rescuing Alicia—or about to throw her into the flames” (195). Theo brings about Alicia’s destruction, but in some sense, he also saves her, identifying the seed of her childhood trauma and forcing her to confront it—ultimately getting her to talk.