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Part 4, Chapter 17
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
Half an hour later, Diomedes arrives, claiming to have been in a meeting with the Trust. He summons Theo and Stephanie to his office, and Theo is worried he will be scapegoated, fired to clear the Grove’s name. Instead, Stephanie—emphasizing patient safety above reputation—places the blame on Yuri. Apparently, Christian saw Yuri leave the medicine cabinet unlocked, giving Alicia the perfect opportunity to get her hands on some hydrocodone.
As the story rushes to its climax, the “psychological detective story” (focused not on identifying the murderer but on understanding them) starts to become more like a whodunit mystery. Critically, Yuri told Theo early on that he watched a woman through the window; he also had an unusually close relationship with Alicia. Maybe the woman Yuri had a crush on and Alicia are one and the same.
Themes
Diomedes tries to argue that no one is at fault: “when someone wants to die […] it’s often impossible to prevent it.” But Theo has his own theory, bringing up his sense that it was attempted murder. Moreover, Theo reveals that Christian was treating Alicia before she came to the Grove—if she were to talk, he could lose his job and his entire reputation. That’s enough evidence for Diomedes, and he suggests that it’s time to call the police.
Diomedes, who has previously linked his Greek heritage to an innate understanding of how tragedy works, now embraces the idea that certain losses are “impossible” to avoid. But Theo is determined to place the blame on Christian—which doesn’t totally make sense, given that several days have elapsed since Theo first learned of Christian’s prior involvement with Alicia. Just as Theo earlier tested Paul, Max, and Jean-Felix, this accusation seems like it could be another test.
Themes
