Though she was admitted in The Grove because of the crime she committed, we can’t say that she was regretting or trapped in the past. On the contrary, we can’t say the same for Alicia. Just like the readers were reading two timelines at once, Theo was living in the present while dwelling in the past. Even the chapters, Alicia’s diary, Theo with his wife, and Theo in The Grove, also show how the past has penetrated into the present and has become almost one. Because he was trapped in the past he went to Ruth that day and for that same reason, he went to The Grove. Firstly, he was trapped in his ugly childhood, later he was trapped in the day he broke into Alicia’s house, then probably in the moment when he had drugged Alicia, an act that had put him in jail perhaps. His life wasn’t meant to be like that - he wasn’t free, he was trapped in the past. Turns out, the notion he had about his freedom, his happiness was nothing more than a short-term consolation. It was going smooth until one evening when Theo read those messages on Kathy’s laptop, which he wasn’t meant to read. From those frightful nights he spent in his house when his father hit him like an angry child hitting a teddy bear for no reason, to the nights he spent with Kathy, his life has changed for the better. He was content and for the first time, he was aware of how lucky he was. He dreamt of freedom freedom which he got with Kathy. Theo is a psychotherapist with a dark, ugly, suffocating childhood behind him. When Theo applies for the job at The Grove, he tells the readers that his purpose is to treat Alicia, however, only he knows the true purpose. The story revolves around the two main characters - Theo and Alicia.
Why she killed him, on the other hand, remained a mystery.” The Therapist and the Patient There was never any doubt she killed Gabriel. Alicia was found alone with Gabriel’s body only her fingerprints were on the gun. “The facts, such as they were, were simple. They fell in love and had been lustfully fond of each other from the first day they had met and had eventually married.Īn artist, a photographer, a theatre actress, and a psychotherapist draw a link as the story comes to meet its climax and we see the three plots intersecting at one point turning the entire story topsy-turvy.
They were introduced to each other through their exes. It makes perfect sense - to me at least - that she would pick up her brush and paints, and express her complicated emotions on canvas.”Ī third storyline tells about Theo’s personal life, mainly focussing on his childhood and his wife Kathy. “But let us not forget that while Alicia Berenson may be a murderer, she was also an artist. In those days she made a painting, a self-portrait, and named it Alcestis. A few days after her trial, viewing her condition, she was put on home arrest.
Unlike other suspects who scream their hearts out to prove their innocence, Alicia remained quiet throughout her interrogation, trial, and then forever. Theo tells us that Alicia killed her husband six years ago, shot him five times in the head, attempted suicide, and is currently admitted in The Grove, a secure forensic unit. Alicia is fond of her husband, she’s deeply in love with him and according to him, Gabriel loves her just as much. He has given her that diary, she’s unsure whether to call it a diary or a journal or something else, to write down whatever she feels since he found out Alicia was upset with something. I love Gabriel so much.”Īlicia writes in her diary that the only reason for her writing is her husband Gabriel. I don’t ever want to cause him any distress or make him unhappy or cause him pain. “I can’t bear the thought of him worrying about me.