The Silent Patient

Part 4 begins with a quote from Alice Miller: “The aim of therapy is not to correct the past, but to enable the patient to confront his own history, and to grieve over it” (241).

Theo has just finished reading the last of Alicia’s diary in tandem with the reader, meaning both are on the same page now. The diary has left many questions unanswered, and Theo’s determined to get answers. First, there is the question of Dr. West, who treated Alicia privately after her father’s death and again in the weeks before Gabriel’s death. Theo wonders why Dr. West didn’t testify at Alicia’s trial; he would have made a valuable character witness. The reader is clueless, but Theo already seems to have the answer: He puts the diary in his pocket and goes to an office at The Grove—that of “DR C WEST” (244).

Christian is “DR C WEST.” Theo confronts him with what he has learned from Alicia’s diary. Christian reveals that Gabriel was an old school friend of his and asked him to treat Alicia secretly—first after Vernon’s death and then again when Alicia complained of a stalker. Gabriel paid Christian under the table, in cash, and Christian never declared this income.