Tragic flaw is definitely an issue in this novel, particularly for Patrick. Patrick’s biggest tragic flaw is his lost of identity and therefore, the novel is mostly about Patrick’s search for his identity. His tragic flaw influences every part of his life, even his relationships with people. He has much affection for Clara and Alice because he doesn’t have a sense of identity. He wants to be with them, believing that they would help him to find who he is or at least because he has someone to rely on. As a consequence, when he loses these two people, his tragic flaw drives him crazy. For instance, after Alice dies, he puts a hotel on fire and eventually ends up being a prisoner.
On the other hand, when Clara leaves him, Patrick displays more of a mental destruction. This is well described in the novel as he obsessively writes letters to Clara, knowing that she cannot come back to him. Also, though he hates Marmora, he risks himself and goes back to Marmora to see Clara. When Alice visits Patrick, the description of the house clearly shows he is not able to get over Clara even two years after she had left him. He specifically mentions that he is not fine on page 87, “Physically I’m fine, just my mind.” Also, when Alice moves towards him in this scene, Patrick steps back in danger, which shows that he had lost his confidence. His lost of confidence connects Alice and Patrick as he reluctantly accepts Alice because of his desperate need for someone to rely on.
Patrick’s lost of identity caused him to be a weak individual, which led him to always seek for a person to rely on instead of creating his own pathway. As these people leave him, he confronts a huge mental destruction of becoming violent and losing his confidence.
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