"The Silent Patient" and How Childhood Trauma Affects Us

Warning: Content may have spoilers

   In “The Silent Patient” by Alex Michaelides, Alicia Berenson is accused of killing her husband, Gabriel. She was once a successful painter who was happily married to, and in love with, a famous photographer. Throughout her murder trial, Alicia painted a scene of herself standing naked before an easel and a canvas, holding a paintbrush that is dripping with red paint… or maybe blood. She titled this new piece Alcestis. Alicia has not spoken a word in the past 6 years since the murder occurred. Theo Faber is a psychotherapist who hopes to discover Alicia’s story and help her to speak. Ever since Theo first heard about Alicia on the News, he has felt compelled to help her. Now, he is given the opportunity to be her therapist when he obtains a job at The Grove, Alicia’s psychiatric hospital. Theo soon realizes that the Alcestis painting may be the key to solving the mystery of Alicia’s silence.

Theo Faber was raised in a toxic and dysfunctional family. His father was abusive and, as a result, his mother became an alcoholic. In an attempt to escape the physical and psychological abuse, Theo left for university at 18 years old. Contrary to his expectations, Theo became extremely depressed in university, and even attempted suicide. Theo’s luck changed when he met a therapist named Ruth, who assisted him in overcoming his depression and discovering the root of the problem. This inspired him to become a psychotherapist, but Theo never truly overcame the shame and loss of confidence that his childhood embedded into him. In his mid-30s, Theo fell in love with an American named Kathy. She was full of energy and the most spontaneous and happiest person that he had ever met. The two of them quickly fell in love and soon married. The deep love that Theo felt towards Kathy was unlike anything that he had ever felt towards someone before. To Theo’s surprise, early in the book, he discovers that Kathy is cheating on him. This event causes everything from Theo’s childhood to return to him. He begins to feel a profound hatred for Kathy, but simply cannot let her go and still wants to fix her. This event takes us back to his younger self, when all that Theo wanted was his father’s validation, despite all the harm that his father did to him.

Alicia Berenson was also traumatized at a young age. Young Alicia was in the car when her mother attempted suicide and unfortunately succeeded. If that was not enough, Alicia then overheard her father saying that he wished that it was Alicia that died in the accident. In her diary, Alicia said that when she heard her father say that heartbreaking line, that was the moment of her “death”. She titled her painting Alcestis because in the Greek myth, Alcestis is a goddess who died for her husband, and even though she came back to life, Alcestis still felt dead. Alicia is soon put in a terrible situation that overlaps with Theo’s storyline. Going back, before the murder accusation, the psychiatric hospital, and Theo’s therapy, lies the actual scene of Gabriel’s death. Theo broke into Alicia and Gabriel’s house to hurt Gabriel… because Gabriel was Kathy’s secret lover. There he gave Gabriel a choice: should he kill Gabriel or Alicia. Choosing to save himself, Gabriel betrayed Alicia. To any other person, this would hurt but seem normal. This triggered Alicia though, because it reminded her of when her father chose her mother over her, all those many years ago.

I will not tell you what happens from here, if Alicia is the murderer, or Theo, or even Gabriel himself. Maybe Gabriel is not even dead, and it was all just a twisted scheme. But that is not the point. The point is that if Theo had not been in desperate need of that validation because of his childhood, he would not have felt such a deep need to physically hurt Gabriel. And if Alicia’s father would not have wished out loud that Alicia could be dead instead of her mother, then Alicia would not have been so profoundly affected by the fact that Gabriel chose himself over her. For both, it was like history repeated itself. None of us are the same. The theory of nature-nurture is that nurture works with what nature gives. At birth, most of us are extremely similar, but our experiences and knowledge are what shape us into who we are.

-Larissa Dolcos