The Silent Patient Sparknotes

The Silent Patient, a breakout psychological thriller novel by Alex Michaelides, centers around Theo Faber, a forensic psychotherapist, as he works to unravel the story of Alicia Berenson, a formerly esteemed artist who was accused of murdering her husband Gabriel. Since the crime, Alicia has remained silent, not speaking a single word to anyone, her only statement being the final painting she created: Alcestis. The painting entrances Theo from the beginning, and his inability to read the emotions portrayed in the painting makes him all the more determined to understand Alicia in real life. Her silence merely fuels his fascination, as he compares himself to her, relates her story to his own, and hopes that by revealing her truth, he will in

5) in the weeks leading up to Gabriel’s death. Even more interesting was that “the day he died was the hottest of the year.” (pg. 5) Michaelides emphasizes the detail of the season and the weather to bring forth a predetermined idea from the readers. Summer is a season full of passion. Long days full of sun and heat call to mind an aura of fervor, especially in the context of husband and wife. However, by making this average summer have a heatwave, the atmosphere of the setting changes from a romantic passion to a murderous one. Just like the judge and jury of Alicia’s trial, to us, her crime seems to become a crime born of “abuse” or “jealousy.” (pg.10) Not only does it mislead the audience within the book from the true sequence of events, but it also deflects our attention as readers. There is a mania in every installment of Alicia’s diary that only grows as the heat increases and distrust spreads between her and the people in her life. Heat affects the brain, causing hallucinations like a mirage in the desert, as well as inhibiting decision-making and thought processes. As the summer goes on, tensions ramp up, not only between Alicia and the people around her but also between Theo and Kathy, his then-girlfriend. It’s this heat, this growing blaze that ignites like a fuse between every character until it all comes to a head on August 25th, the day Gabriel Berenson

Theo, as a character, is ruled not by passion or emotions, but by detachment and survival. As a boy, Theo and his mother built a snowman to represent Theo’s father, “[their] absent master” (pg. 14) on a month-long business trip. They proceeded to pummel their creation to the ground as if they were fighting back against the real thing. That night, after his mother had gone to bed, Theo snuck out into the garden and stood in the middle of the snow. It was here, “grasping at vanishing snowflakes” (pg. 15), that he realized he would have to detach himself to survive until he could escape. The snowman took the brunt of Theo’s ire, and then the snowflakes transformed Theo, wiped him clean so that he could survive. However, beneath that facade of indifference, a dark hatred and anger seemed to permeate his life. Despite originally saying that Kathy was the love of his life, he tells Alicia that he sometimes “hates her.” (pg. 93) When Theo talks about Kathy at the Grove, he seems calm, like the hatred is something he's grown used to. The emotions that he wants to unmask are his own, like the rain he sees through the window of the therapy room. (pg. 203) Rather than go out and brave the storm of his feelings, he watches it happen, detached from behind a pane of glass. It isn’t until the end of the story when Theo has been outsmarted by