Hawkins’ “The Girl on The Train” - An Eerie Insight into Apparent Perfection:
Integrating psychoanalysis of the human mind into crime thrillers shapes the best psychological thriller novellas. When I first read The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, the persistent themes of paradoxical scenarios—reality and hallucinations, life and death, and perfection and flaws—never ceased to mesmerize me. Unlike the typical detectives in thriller novels, our protagonist is an unreliable narrator: divorcee Rachel Watson.
Initially, Rachel Watson seems quite shady because of her alcoholism and habit of stalking her ex-husband. However, as we read on, we become aware of her tendency to observe passersby during her ride on the morning train. Her imagination of their perfect lives is demonstrated as one couple, in particular, catches her eye. We, as the audience, are led to wonder if “Jess and Jason,” the seemingly perfect and loving couple in the house by the railroads, are not as perfect as Rachel hopes. It fosters questions about how human resentment, insecurities, and sorrows make us feel inferior to the rest of the world. Rachel’s life slowly gets entangled with the couple, following the sudden disappearance of “Jess.” Through Rachel’s eyes, we realise that her insecurities about her unstable life have spurred her imagination.
Rachel’s frequent calls to her ex Tom and his wife Anna are a necessary turning point in the story; it also frames her as an antagonist of sorts. She becomes entangled in the Hipwell family as an innocent bystander and eventually realizes that quirky blonde Jess is far from happy. Jess’s affairs with her therapist - amongst others - unravel. It was excellent how the author introduced the theme of the illusion of perfection through the deception of appearances. The author kept us, readers, at the edge of our seat with a blend of cliche elements and soulful writing.
The final plot twist was very intriguing. It gives us an insight into the mind of Rachel’s psychopathic ex, who tried to twist her reality. He went to the extent of exploiting her weaknesses until she falsely believed that she abused her ex-husband. Megan’s affair with her therapist, Dr. Abdic, was also revealed to be a “red herring,” another prevailing literary device of the genre. While the book may not be relatable for the hyperbolic discourse of facts, it is one of the most profound insights into the human psyche through the points of view of three contrasting women- Rachel’s paramount paranoia, Megan’s hatred towards her jaded perfect life, and Anna’s insecurities, despite an apparently good life as a mother and wife.
