The Talented Mr. Ripley Themes

At the start of the novel, Tom Ripley is unhappy in every aspect of his life. He lives in a rundown apartment, which is the latest in a long series of rundown apartments, and he is working as a low-level con man. He is ashamed of and embarrassed by every aspect of his existence, and he feels that he deserves more from life. Tom’s gifts as a forger, as well as his ingenuity and cunning…

Highsmith’s descriptions of Tom and Dickie’s romps through Europe are alluring—they are some of the most lushly-worded parts of her book—and they make clear that wealth enables Dickie to do whatever he pleases. His life as a “painter” in Mongibello comes with a home, servants, and lavish lunches, dinners, and trips across Europe—often on a whim. By creating a portrait of excess and allowing readers to view it through the eyes of a poor man…

Every major character in Mr. Ripley is running from something: Dickie Greenleaf flees a life in New York that he doesn’t want, Tom Ripley runs from his poverty and self-loathing by escaping from his own identity, and Marge Sherwood escapes the realities of the writing life and the fear that her book won’t ever be published. Furthermore, by allowing Tom Ripley to make the ultimate escape at the novel’s end—an escape from justice—the novel configures…