The Silent Patient

Theo doesn’t “believe a word” of Alicia’s story. The facts don’t line up: Gabriel was only shot five times, and Alicia was found untied, for example. But Alicia doesn’t want to say anything else. Instead, she tells Theo that there is one more detail to the story, but she will tell him tomorrow, when she has had time to recover.

Theo speaks to Diomedes, admitting he needs some supervision in figuring out Alicia’s case. Theo shares that he is deeply invested in—and frustrated by—Alicia. Indeed, Theo often leaves their sessions with a splitting headache. Diomedes is understanding, and he offers to share a cigarette with Theo.

Diomedes believes that Alicia’s entire encounter with the man is an elaborate fantasy; he is much less sympathetic to her than Theo is. “You’re in deep with Alicia,” Diomedes cautions, “and your feelings are bound up with hers like a tangled ball of wool.” Diomedes also feels that Alicia has been “performing” for Theo, offering him an image of a damsel in distress that will make him want to be her savior.

Diomedes theorizes that Alicia and the man are “one and the same”; she cannot face what she has done, so “she splits, dissociates, fantasizes.” He encourages Theo to force Alicia to face the truth. Theo vows that he will do so tomorrow—and Diomedes implies that tomorrow is Theo’s final chance.