Vasanth T's Key Ideas from The Silent Patient
by Alex Michaelides

Before she was admitted to a psychiatry facility, she was in her home for some days with a psychiatric nurse, all she did at this time was paint, nor did she ate or slept.

The painting in it's bottom left-hand corner said "ALCESTIS". It is a Greek myth where she sacrifices her life for her husband, which feels like it is in no way connected to her life at the moment. But in her portrait it was her standing naked with very good details of her body.

Everyone was angry on her and thought she was a brutal bitch. Due to her silence and no proofs, she was admitted to The Grove.

Theo Faber who himself is a forensic psychotherapist wishes to help Alicia and had profound empathy on her after listening to her condition.

He successfully gets a position at The Grove to practice psychotherapy.

He learns more about the people who are working in Grove. Prof Diomedes (incharge of The Grove), Yuri who is head nurse and Stephanie the manager. Stephanie was quite harsh with Theo and Yuri the opposite.

He successfully finds Alicia during a discussion and pitied on seeing her in the worst condition posibile. She was heavy on drugs (Resperidone).

Theo successfully gets permission to treat Alicia, but finds it not useful, as she was silent for the past 6 years and she continued to do so even with Theo,

Theo was eager to find Alicia's approach towards ALCESTIS. Also, he wanted to know more about her childhood. He tried calling his niece, but it wasn't a positive response. Her brother in law tells he will meet Theo later.

On Theo's way back to home, Yuri (nurse) calls him for a drink to a pub nearby, where Yuri nags about his love and Theo is bored as hell. But finally Theo says he needs to meet his wife and leaves.

Theo was married to Kathy who was an actress. Their love story seems to be really blissful.

At first both of them were dating different people until the couples met at a pub. Both of their partners fought and left, when Theo approached kathy and offered a drink.

They both made quite a good couple and after the pub they made their way to Theo's place, where Kathy gently pressed her lips on Theo, while he pulls her towards him on the front door.

As soon as they enter into his home, they undress, falls into his bed for the most erotic night of his lifetime. They have sex and makes love all night.

They breakup with their current partners, after which Theo and Kathy starts to Date. After sometime, Kathy moves in with Theo.

Although his parents weren't too much in favour of her, they both knew that they found the love of their life. They get married in a small registry office, without their parents, no prayers, nothing but their own presence.

Their marriage gave them a purpose, Theo thinks he is the luckiest person to get a girlfriend like Kathy, so beautiful and adorable. They spend a lot of time and had a lot of sex.

He compares his instance with Alicia's case and pitied for her.

It starts with Alicia's diary, with her describing about her visit to Hampstead Heath and how she remembers her mother's dress, smell and on the way how she met a beautiful bird, but later found it was completely rotten and filled with maggots.

She describes about her favorite air-conditioned caffe and how she hates the heat in her place. There is also a painting of Gabriel portrayed as Jesus, as Alicia feels that he is the saviour of her life and without him she would not be this happy for sure.

Alicia and Gabriel frequently went out for dinners on Fridays. And on 20th July they went to their usual place, had nice time, drank wine and ends up having sex when they came home. Alicia finds a right time to say that she wants to paint him again, but he wasn't happy for sitting long time. But finally agrees.

As he sat for hours, she drew him. When they both are tired or annoyed, they ends up having sex.

Alicia and Gabriel both seems to be loving each other and are indeed an intimate couples, but Alicia in some instances thinks a lot. An overthinker, maybe.

Theo finds that she is on heavy medication and tries to reduce it, Christian who's Alicia's psychiatrist was also Theo's old workmate and convos between them were never friendly.

Indira, another staff of The Grove, helped and supported Theo with her kindness. She reminded of Theo's old therapist Ruth. As Theo himself was a patient for Ruth and she helped him over come Theo's childhood trauma. Christian thinks that Alicia is faking it, while Indira was pleased to know that there is someone who really cares about Alicia now. Christian challenges Theo to cure her...

Now, Theo hoped for a lot and sat before Alicia. Theo had Ruth in mind and tried to approach like her. He said he just wanted to her and make her see clearly. As soon as he said these words, Alicia leapt from the chair, landed on top of Theo and attacked with her claws, she grabbed Theo's neck and tried to choke him, but Theo pressed the alarm and it nearly took 4 nurses to hold her down.

He feels that her attack was a way she wanted to convey him something, but Stephanie (manager) and Christian doesn't agree to this, and argues lowering dosage was wrong. He gets 6 weeks to cure her.

Theo reaches his home, and it was silent, so he knew Kathy wasn't at home, as she has been practicing late for some dramas.

He also tells about his first encounter with marijuana and how he left smoking weed when he met Kathy, as she was enough for him. But he later started smoking weed in a party of Kathy's friend. So, he knew Kathy is not going to be home soon, so goes to his hiding place, and gets the weed he saved, rolled it and smoked it.

When he tried to switch on the TV, unknowningly he presses the laptop, and found out Kathy's mail was logged in, he was already high and was staring

Suddenly he came across words, "sexy", "fuck", etc. He clicked on the mail and read "I am on the bus, so horny for you. I can smell you on me. I feel like a slut!" Sent from Kathy to BADBOY22. and a lot of other horny texts too. Theo at first couldn't believe it, but he was no longer stoned after seeing these horny, obscene texts sent by Kathy to this Stranger, that too, late at nights while drunk. He found that she has been texting him after Theo sleeps.

He sleeps, the next day, at Grove, he got the first response from Alicia, she nods her head jumps from her chair and leaves him.

That day he gets high again, slips a glass and cuts his finger, but ties it with a cloth, and became furious about those messages which made him uncomfortable. He thinks about a lot of possibilities, but finally ends up meeting Ruth.

But his love for Kathy was so high that Ruth ends up saying "I don't know if persistent sexual and emotional betrayal with a stranger is on the same level as getting stoned every now and then.

Ruth also advises Theo that this kindah feels like his childhood, where he was emotionally betrayed by his father. "Free yourself from endlessly repeating it." -Ruth.

When Theo reaches Home, he sees that Kathy found the weed and questions him. Even though he wanted to confront her, he kept quiet and cried all night. The next day, it was another normal day with a lot of silence between them.

Theo tries to establish friendly connection with Elif, another harsh inmate, but fails, he gets a call from Alicia's brother in law. He met him later, Max told about Alicia's suicide attempt and her mental ill health, but he didn't like Alicia much, and his assistant Tanya hinted him to go and meet Alicia's cousin instead. Tanya and Max were married for about a year.

She mentions about her addiction to her favourite coffee shop. Also how Gabriel made her happy and feel special on her thirty third birthday. How they went for a picnic and decided to have a baby later that day.

Theo then meets her cousin and the first meet was a disastrous one. As his cousin knocks Theo as a trespasser, but later he finds that his mother or Alicia's aunt Lydia is a cunning bitch and never liked Alicia. He was actually happy that Alicia could leave her aunt, unlike her cousin couldn't.

Later Theo comes home, and finds Kathy is not home yet, he tries to go through the laptop again, but finds out that her account was logged out. He is suspicious on Kathy and tries to follow her when she says she is going to meet her friend Nicole, but she wasn't lying this time. Theo was happy.

Theo finds to go through Alicia's art work and goes to her Gallery. He meets Jean-felix, Alicia's assistant. Actually Max was the one who suggested to meet Felix to get more information, as Alicia and Felix were close friends and Felix didn't reject that. In fact, Felix thought that Gabriel was jealous of him, that he would snatch Alicia one day from him. But Felix actually embraced the art work of Alicia and he saved her paintings with such a great care. He also tells Theo that, Alicia hated her father, contrary to what Max said! "She loved her father". Theo found this useful.

She speaks about the heat in London and her cousin calling her suddenly after a long time. He wants to meet Alicia in person and comes to her Home and asks for 20 grand as a loan. He says he lost that money in Gambling, however Alicia convinces him and gives 2000 pounds instead. He also tells Alicia not to tell this to Gabriel, but she tells him, and he scolds Alicia.

She also mentions about her gallery partner Felix. She didn't like Felix at all, Felix always used to be clingy and speak bad of Gabriel and always uses their past friendship as a tool to strengthen their relationship.

Although Gabriel didn't like Felix much, but never thought Felix could be a competition. Both Alicia and Gabriel loved each other a lot, more than one could ever imagine. However, Alicia tells him that she is going to change her gallery as she wants to avoid Felix once and for all. But Felix accuses Gabriel brainwashed her against him, although Gabriel has no role in this decision. But however Felix convinces Alicia one last time to go with him for a movie. Alicia also mentions that she is afraid of Felix, due to his clinginess and ever bragging past friendship to speak bad of Gabriel.