The Silent Patient

Chapter 22 consists of Alicia’s diary entries, dating from August 2-6. In one, she describes getting a call from Paul; he insists they meet in person, at which point he reveals he has a large gambling debt and asks for her help paying it off. She agrees to write him a check. In another entry, Jean-Felix visits Alicia. She recognizes that their “friendship” is built on him using her for her art: “He’s more attached to my paintings than he is to me” (175). On this day, she tells him that she plans to change to a new gallery, news that stuns and angers Jean-Felix. He pressures her into seeing a play with him that Friday, Euripedes’s Alcestis. She says yes, she writes, because she’s afraid of him.

Theo goes to see Lazarus and tells him about Alcestis, hoping for guidance as to the play’s meaning. Lazarus asks him: “How would you feel? The person you love most in the world has condemned you to die, through their own cowardice. That’s quite a betrayal” (178). Theo realizes that this would incite anger—both in the character of Alcestis and in Alicia.