The Silent Patient Part II, Chapters 1 - 15
The second set of excerpts from Alicia’s journal is dated between the 16th of July and the 21st of the same month. Alicia describes a quaint life with her husband. They seem to go out on dates often and spend a great deal of time laughing and making love together. Gabriel is extremely supportive of her art and pushes her to realize her talent. Alicia is plagued by memories of her mother, who had tried to kill herself and Alicia by ramming her car into a wall. This is the reason why she doesn’t want to have children, she doesn’t want to damage them as her mother damaged her. She gets Gabriel to agree to sit for a portrait as she realised that she has been painting Gabriel’s face on the painting of Jesus on the cross. He agrees reluctantly, but Alicia can’t seem to get the right eyes in the portrait.
Theo approaches Professor Diomedes with his concerns about the medication that Alicia is being given at the Grove. Diomedes suggests he take the matter up with her psychiatrist, Christian, who has worked with Theo in the past. Theo requests that Diomedes intercede on his behalf since he has a complicated relationship with Christian. Diomedes agrees to do so, but Theo finds himself facing Christian just a few hours later. He informs Theo that he had lowered Alicia’s dosage on Diomedes’ request, but makes it clear that he understands the origin of the request. Christian doesn’t think Theo can help Alicia and even goes so far as to call him a rat. Theo doesn’t pay Christian any mind, and he is severely glad to see Alicia appearing less sedated in their next session. Theo sits with her for the whole hour and reaffirms his desire to help her at the end of the session. To his surprise, Alicia attacks him ferociously and he is forced to call for help using his alarm.
In a staff meeting, Christian and the ward manager attempt to lay the blame for the incident on Theo and prevent his interactions with Alicia. Diomedes agrees with Theo’s assessment that their therapy needs to continue since this is the first attempt at communication by Alicia. He gives Theo six weeks to produce results since he is desperate to produce a breakthrough in the popular case of Alicia Berenson.
At home, Theo secretly rolls a joint while Kathy is running late from a rehearsal of Othello. He discusses W.R. Bion’s theory of containment and the nameless dread that people experience when they fail to learn containment from their primary caregiver. Theo received a soothing effect from weed, but he had given it up naturally upon meeting Kathy. Just as he finishes smoking the joint, he finds Kathy’s laptop on the table and accidentally finds evidence that she is sleeping with another man behind his back.
Theo has another session with Alicia, and he tries to fill the silence by talking about his own life. He talks about his marriage, and his wife, who he sometimes hates. This seems to make Alicia quite angry, and she storms out of the office when he asks her whether she had hated Gabriel.
Theo avoids confronting Kathy and pretends to be quite busy as he chooses to leave the house whenever she is around. He knows that he must confront her but he cannot work up the courage to do so, and he begins to think that she is too good for him. He berates himself, while praising her, and begins to believe that she was bound to cheat on him given what a poor match he had been for her. He injures himself while cooking, and rushed out of the apartment with a bleeding hand. He walks aimlessly through the busy streets thinking about Kathy and his marriage. During the walk, he realizes that he needs Kathy in his life, more than she needs him. He looks up and finds that he has walked to the house of his old therapist, Ruth. She welcomes him kindly into her home as a friend and ruthlessly tells him that he is simply recreating the dynamic he had with his father by being with Kathy. It is clear to him that Kathy had begun to cheat on him because she felt there was a lack of fireworks, which is not truly indicative of love but something less whole.
Theo is reluctant to accept this truth, but he finally manages to come to terms with it. He returns home with the conviction that he is going to leave her, but he gives up immediately upon seeing her and decides to keep on living with her without bringing up the matter.
In the Grove, Theo speaks to one of the patients that had fought with Alicia during her initial months at the institute and discovers that the fight between them had occurred because Elif had asked if Gabriel had deserved it. He receives an appointment with Max Berenson, who paints a disturbing picture of Alicia’s mental health. Max reveals that she had attempted to kill herself in the past and received treatment for it. Max suggests that Theo speak with Jean-Felix, the art gallery owner that had exhibited Alicia’s work, while Max’s secretary secretly asks Theo to speak to Paul Rose, Alicia’s cousin.
Alicia’s diary reveals that Max had assaulted Alicia, and she didn’t want to tell Gabriel because he looked up to his brother. She finds herself growing sad over the prospect of never having children, but then Gabriel brings up the subject and asks her if they should reconsider having kids. Alicia tearfully assents.
Theo calls Max again to find out details about Alicia’s suicide attempt but gains no information he learns that Max had been the heir to Gabriel’s estate and not Alicia. This line of questioning angers Max and he reports the matter to Diomedes who asks Theo to remain within the realm of their profession for Alicia’s treatment. Theo defies Diomedes by going to Cambridge to speak with Paul Rose, and he is struck in the head as he sneaks into someone’s house.
Analysis
The two women in the novel seem to be juxtaposed with the women in Theo’s life. Kathryn is shown to be a powerful figure, who lives her life without fear, and is often described as being the source of color and light in his life. On the other hand, Alicia is represented as a downtrodden woman that Theo must help, and quite literally help her find her voice. The novel’s title names her a patient, which is to say that she is someone who requires aid. Yet, Alicia continually demonstrates through non-verbal communication that she is not to be underestimated. Diomedes understands this about her and correctly dubs her as a siren, who can sink Theo’s ship.
Alicia’s journal describes an intense love for Gabriel, which is most powerfully represented through her subconscious act of painting him as Jesus. However, the blankness in the portrait’s eyes indicates Alicia’s poor mental health or the fact that Gabriel is not truly as good as she perceives him to be. The darkness that she finds in the portrait may be the objective reality of Gabriel’s character.
Another important theme of the novel is pretense, powered primarily by the narrator and Alicia. Alicia does not come out and tell the world about Gabriel’s murder and chooses to remain silent. Similarly, Theo hides his discovery of Kathy’s betrayal, and cannot even stand to smoke openly because of how it will be perceived. The references to Othello in this sequence indicate a complicated love affair and a bloody end.
