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The entire profession of talk therapy is built around the idea that there are clear lines of separation between patients and their therapists—but in The Silent Patient, cigarettes (and cigars) demonstrate how those lines can be blurred. When Theo Faber, a well-respected psychotherapist, first shows up for his new job at the psych ward known as the Grove, he is anxious to conceal his smoking habit: “psychotherapists tend to view smoking as an unresolved addiction,” he explains. But just a few weeks into the job, Theo learns that his boss, Professor Lazarus Diomedes, also smokes, justifying the habit by saying that “we’re all a little bit crazy in this place.” And towards the end of the narrative, Theo smokes a cigarette with his patient Alicia, causing him to reflect that they were “crashing through every last boundary between therapist and patient.” The persistence of cigarette smoking throughout the story suggests that everyone has bad habits and dirty secrets—no amount of training can erect a clear barrier between those who claim to help and those who need to be helped.
Cigarettes Quotes in The Silent Patient
The The Silent Patient quotes below all refer to the symbol of Cigarettes. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 2, Chapter 2
Quotes
[Diomedes] pulled out a little box from his desk, sliding off the cover to reveal a row of cigars. He offered me one. I shook my head.
“You don’t smoke?” He seemed surprised. “You look like a smoker to me.”
“No, no. Only the occasional cigarette—just now and then…I’m trying to quit.”
“Good, good for you.” He opened the window. “You know that joke, about why you can’t be a therapist and smoke? Because it means you’re still fucked up.” He laughed and popped one of the cigars into his mouth. “I think we’re all a bit crazy in this place. You know that sign they used to have in offices? ‘You don’t need to be mad to work here, but it helps’?”
Diomedes laughed again. He lit the cigar and puffed on it, blowing the smoke outside. I watched him enviously.
Related Characters:
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Silent Patient LitChart as a printable PDF.
Cigarettes Symbol Timeline in The Silent Patient
The timeline below shows where the symbol Cigarettes appears in The Silent Patient. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1, Chapter 4
...with snow that had yet to fall.” To calm his nerves, Theo covertly smokes a cigarette; the habit is frowned upon in psychotherapy. He is apprehensive for a reason: some of...
(full context)
Part 2, Chapter 2
...suicidal again, but Theo is persistent. As the meeting winds down, Diomedes offers Theo a cigar, to Theo’s surprise. “I think we’re all a bit crazy in this place,” Diomedes says,...
(full context)
Part 4, Chapter 12
...her if she moved. Before Alicia finishes the story, she asks Theo to share a cigarette with her. When he is surprised that she knows about his smoking habit, she explains...
(full context)
Part 4, Chapter 13
Theo wonders whether or not it is appropriate to share a cigarette with Alicia. He reflects on Christian’s comment (“borderlines are seductive”), and he notes the sharp...
(full context)
Part 4, Chapter 15
...their sessions with a splitting headache. Diomedes is understanding, and he offers to share a cigarette with Theo.
(full context)
Part 4, Chapter 20
Theo goes outside to smoke a cigarette, but he is interrupted by Max Berenson and Tanya. Max, having heard the news about...
(full context)
Part 5, Chapter 1
...February 23rd. She explains how she recognized Theo as the masked man—“the same smell of cigarettes,” the same phrase (“I want to help you see clearly”).
(full context)
