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
Theo goes outside to smoke a cigarette, but he is interrupted by Max Berenson and Tanya. Max, having heard the news about Alicia, is violently angry; Tanya has to restrain him so that he does not punch Theo. “My poor Alicia, my girl,” Max cries, threatening Theo. Tanya looks on in dismay, and Theo walks away.
Max is no longer able to conceal his feelings in front of Tanya; as Freud said, the truth always comes out. At the same time, however, Max’s real grief suggests that he is probably not behind the attempted murder of Alicia Berenson.
Themes
