A Literary Analysis of The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
“Her silence was like a mirror — reflecting yourself back at you. And it was often an ugly sight,” states the protagonist of fictional thriller The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides (94). The author’s forensic psychotherapist character, Theo Faber, feels drawn to Alicia Berenson, the infamous, silent patient in a special institution for criminals with diminished responsibility due to their mental disorders. Six years ago, after being convicted of murdering her husband, Gabriel — via five point-blank gunshots to the face — Alicia ceased speaking entirely, instead expressing herself only through her paintings and secret diary.
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Clearly, the subject of Theo’s interest has a violent predisposition, the magnet pulling him to treat this patient. Yet, Michaelides combines Alicia’s diary and Theo’s first-person account to establish a picture of both main characters having a proclivity for violence.
Indeed, both Theo and Alicia have dark pasts caused by their respective fathers. Theo Faber writes, “I had internalized my father, introjected him, buried him deep in my unconscious [sic]. No matter how far I ran, I carried him with me wherever I went. I was pursued by an infernal, relentless chorus of furies, all with his…
