The Silent Patient

Two quotes preface Part 3. One, from Jean-Paul Sartre, reads: “I mustn’t put strangeness where there’s nothing. I think that is the danger of keeping a diary: you exaggerate everything, you are on the look-out, and you continually stretch the truth. Jean-Paul Sartre” (217). The other is from William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale: “Though I am not naturally honest, I am sometimes so by chance” (217).

Part 3 consists of the remainder of Alicia’s diary, with entries ranging from August 8-25. Alicia notices a man stalking her. After seeing him on multiple occasions, she tells Gabriel. He suggests it might be Jean-Felix, but Alicia is sure this isn’t the case. Alicia then tells her neighbor, Barbie. Finally, Gabriel—thinking that Alicia is delusional—takes her to see a psychoanalyst, Dr. West. Dr. West also doesn’t believe Alicia, reminding her of the fact that she suffered paranoid delusions (thinking people were following her) after her father’s death as well. He prescribes an antipsychotic drug but she secretly doesn’t take it because she wants to be alert in case of a possible threat: “I need my wits about me now. I need to be prepared” (234). Alicia’s fear is palpable as she starts hiding her diary and stays indoors for three days straight.