Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Silent Patient, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Empathy, Identification, and Boundaries
Tragedy and Destiny
Honesty vs. Deception
Childhood Trauma
Silence vs. “The Talking Cure”
Summary
Analysis
Rowena says that letting Alicia paint is a “great idea,” though she is confident Alicia will refuse (“Alicia’s the least responsive, most uncommunicative bitch I ever worked with”). Rowena is frustrated that Alicia never participates in art therapy, though Theo thinks this is probably because Rowena is not a very good therapist; just a “plumber,” to use Ruth’s terminology. Sick of the subject, Rowena signs off, and Theo assesses that she is jealous of Alicia’s skill.
Throughout the novel, both women and men frequently use the word “bitch” to describe Alicia, hinting that there is an undercurrent of sexism in people’s perception of her. On a different note, this exchange reveals Theo’s judgment about other kinds of therapists: while he feels that he is able to enter and transform Alicia’s mind, someone like Rowena is merely a “plumber,” trying to unclog Alicia’s outlook instead of deeply understanding it.
Themes
