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- Rachel longs terribly for a baby, and her inability to conceive a child has made her feel not only that motherhood is unattainable, but that a true experience of womanhood is incomplete without children.
www.litcharts.com/lit/the-girl-on-the-train/themes/motherhood-duty-and-careMotherhood, Duty, and Care Theme in The Girl on the Train ...
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Throughout The Girl on the Train, the novel’s three main characters— Rachel, Megan, and Anna —all struggle with motherhood in different ways as they attempt to embody society’s idea of a good mother. Rachel feels like a failure as a woman because she cannot have a child.
- Rachel Watson
Rachel Watson is the titular girl on the train and the...
- Summary & Analysis
By mentioning Rachel’s pain about Anna’s perfect experience...
- Rachel Watson
Rachel Watson is the titular girl on the train and the novel’s primary narrator and protagonist. A divorcee and alcoholic in her mid-thirties, Rachel has also recently lost her job and seemingly her prospects for the future.
Jul 5, 2013 · By mentioning Rachel’s pain about Anna’s perfect experience of motherhood alongside the dark image of the clothes beside the tracks, Hawkins hints at how difficult it is for women to “have it all.”
She does not consider motherhood, much to the disappointment of her husband. When Scott suggests therapy to help improve her sleeping habits, she begins sessions with Dr. Kamal Abdic. She becomes attracted to him and eventually confesses her traumatic past.
- Rachel Watson
- Megan Hipwell
- Anna Watson
- Tom Watson
- Scott Hipwell
Rachel is a complicated and, at times, an unlikeable and unreliable character. In her own perspective, she is a divorcée, deeply depressed over her infertility and a failed marriage. She longs for what she believes to be a happy suburban family life, desperate to matter to others and be helpful. Others, however, see her as a creepy stalker with a p...
Megan is not at all the model wife and glamorous beauty Rachel imagines her to be. Haunted by her painful past—she is responsible for the accidental death of her baby—she is unable to confide in anyone, condemning herself to a string of superficial relationships that distract her from an overwhelming sense of guilt. Although she loves him, she is c...
Anna defines herself by her looks and her sexual power over men. She is like Megan in that she had an affair with a married man and like Rachel in that her husband is cheating on her. Yet unlike Megan, who feels guilty over sleeping with a married man, she considered her affair with Tom a turn-on. She believes herself to be far above Rachel, whom s...
At first glance, Tom seems to be a supportive ex-husband who continues to care for Rachel long after their divorce, an attentive husband to Anna, and an adoring father to their baby girl. As it turns out, he is cheating on Anna the way he cheated on Rachel, this time with Megan. A compulsive liar, he has gaslighted Rachel throughout their marriage,...
Scott is very much in love with his wife, Megan, yet his jealous and impulsive nature makes him snoop in his wife's things, overstepping all privacy boundaries. When jealous, he flies into fits of anger and violence, regretting them afterward. His cycle of violence and remorse is typical of domestic abuse. Like Tom, he is an abusive man, attacking ...
Jul 12, 2016 · wife Anna is the mother to a young child, Evie. How does Rachel?s inability to conceive precipitate her breakdown? How does the topic of motherhood drive the plot of the story?
Rachel's desire to become a mother is so strong that her infertility destroys her self-image and makes her feel worthless. Megan's pregnancy empowers her to confront both Scott and Tom, accepting that she may end up caring for the baby on her own.
