45 pages • 1 hour read
Patricia HighsmithStrangers On A Train
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1950A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Tools
BetaChapters 34-38Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 34 Summary
Gerard questions Bruno about Guy. Bruno says he knows Guy because he was considering using him as an architect. Gerard asks about the flowers he sent Anne, and states that Bruno saw Guy regularly before the murder.
Chapter 35 Summary
Sitting on the deck of the India, Guy thinks that he had been mad on the day of his lunch with Bruno, and dreams of building a bridge. Bruno telephones a few evenings afterward, asking to meet, and "crumbling" Guy's sanity. Bruno cannot bring himself to tell Guy that Gerard knows they are connected. Guy picks up the phone and Gerard asks whether he can interview him. Guy tells Gerard that he met Bruno at the Parker Art Institute the previous December, and again at his wedding.
Chapter 36 Summary
Guy and Bruno agree on the Art Institute story over the telephone. Guy decides it is imperative to break contact with Bruno. Bruno walks through the door and collapses on the sofa. Bruno threatens to tell Anne if Guy doesn't let him stay. Bruno reassures Guy that Gerard is on the wrong trail, and argues that Guy's social standing will protect him, blackmailing Guy: "they've got a lot more against you than against me. I could wriggle out if you turned me in, but you couldn't" (218).
Chapter 37 Summary
Anne discovers that Guy dented her boat on a trip with Bruno. Guy feels he is doomed to lose Anne. On another sailing trip, Guy drops the revolver into the water.
Chapter 38 Summary
Bruno and his mother discuss going to Europe. Bruno has a seizure. The doctor says it is due to his drinking. Bruno decides he will stay near Guy instead.
Chapters 34-38 Analysis
The perilous position of the two men becomes apparent in these chapters, in which their attempts to gain control over the situation enmesh them further. Bruno's alcoholism brings him to the brink of death, while Guy's sanity crumbles and he feels himself teetering on the brink of losing Anne. Despite Bruno's wishful thinking that Gerard is on the wrong trail, the detective calls Guy immediately afterward, indicating that, conversely, he is in hot pursuit.
The Alcoholics Anonymous 12 Step Program was first published in America in 1939, gaining in popularity over the next decade. Guy and Bruno’s loss of control in these chapters reverses several of the steps of the Program. Step One is acknowledging a loss of control. According to the program, the recognition of a higher power aids in the restoration of sanity. We see this functioning when Guy feels he has overcome his madness during his honeymoon with the saintly Anne.
One of the central tenets of the AA Program is making amends for past mistakes, something a murderer resists by definition. While maintaining anonymity, participants in the program rely on a supportive community. Highsmith’s protagonists are especially socially isolated in these chapters. An alcoholic herself, Highsmith’s novel about estrangement incorporates aspects of this anonymity.
Related Titles
By Patricia Highsmith
