The Girl on the Train: An Introduction

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins is a psychological thriller that follows three different narrators as they deal with their individual issues and the mystery behind what has happened to Megan Hipwell. As a reader, I am used to reading fantasy and science fiction novels. Stories that always have an element of make believe. Set in a modern day suburbs in London, there is nothing traditionally magical about this book. However, I chose this book to challenge what I usually read for. I wanted to read a book which had more realistic circumstances but also had some sort of mystery to it. Rachel, the main character is a black out drunk and makes for a heavily unreliable narrator. She cannot provide a full story to us because she herself, does not know the whole story. This book asks the reader to cautiously trust its characters and calls for deeper examination into what they say. Hopefully the book provides good insight into the psyche of the characters which will be helpful in future writing and reading.

Robert Mckee explores the creative process of both writing and reading in “Structure and Meaning” by discussing the formation and drive of a story. Mckee suggests that a story is formed by the idea known as the premise, a question that asks what if or what would happen if… (112). The premise for The Girl on the Train appears to be something along the lines of “What if you committed a murder and didn’t know it?” Although a murder has not been confirmed nor has a murderer stepped forward, the book’s ideas seem to be based on this concept. Rachel has convinced herself she has done something terrible but she can’t quite remember what it is. Throughout the story, Rachel teeters on the world of reality and the world she has created within her own imagination.

Mckee also talks about the concept of the “controlling idea.” He states that “a controlling idea may be expressed in a single sentence describing how and why life undergoes change from one condition of existence at the beginning to another at the end.” (115) Mckee also suggests the controlling idea can be found in the climax of the story. Without having read all of the book The Girl on the Train, a climax has not yet be presented but contenders for controlling ideas or values have. I propose that the current controlling value of the story is something along the lines of “Distractions lead to happiness.” On the flip side of things the opposing controlling value or counter idea is something like “Reality leads to self destruction.” This idea is heavily illustrated on pages 96-107. The value graph above shows the changes taking place at this time. During these pages, Rachel becomes conscious of the idea that she is happier when she is distracted. She says, “Megan has been missing for around 133 hours and I feel better than I have in months” (96). Rachel has been obsessing over Megan and her disappearance. She feels as if she can help because she saw Megan with a man who was not her husband. Before her disappearance, Rachel was already entwined within her world, watching her daily from the train, imaging what her life was like. Megan serves as a distraction from Rachel’s cache of real problems. When Rachel thinks about Megan, she is happy, she serves a purpose. She highlights this idea herself when she says “I was so glad to have a purpose that I stopped thinking about the reality,” (107). Thinking about Megan, a woman she doesn’t know she is happy. Thinking about Tom, her ex-husband she is almost insane.

The beginning of a story says a lot about what is to come. It also sets up the ideas and values that will be presented throughout the rest of the story. The Girl on the Train begins with the line “There is a pile of clothing on the side of the train tracks,” (1). The narrator, Rachel, then goes on to describe the pile of clothing, imaging its origins. When reading mimetically, the reader would view this information as description, many would assume like both Rachel’s mother and ex-husband that she has an overactive imagination as the text has stated. As the train rolls on, Rachel describes the houses she sees and talks about how the train stops at a specific spot everyday. The clothes are then mentioned again, “In my head I can still see that little pile of clothes lying at the edge of the track, abandoned,” (2). Reading thematically, we begin to see that Rachel has a fixation with these clothes or the idea behind them. As we continue to read further we can make the connection between her and the clothes. They both have been abandoned in a way. Rachel later mentions the clothes again, thinking maybe they are Megan’s. It is almost certain that before the book ends, the clothes will be mentioned yet again.

Still on the train, we are introduced to Rachel’s drinking problem. She drinks almost daily and tends to lose hours from her memory. The next day, Rachel is back on the morning train. Every morning she takes the 8:04 train and every evening the 5:56 train. The story is giving us a sense of Rachel’s monotony and routine. As this ensues, we find out the train represents a safe haven to Rachel. “I’d rather be here, looking out at the houses beside the track, than almost anywhere else,” (3). In the very beginning of the book we see that Rachel uses different techniques to take herself out of the real world. She creates stories about clothes and people by the train, she drinks until she can’t think, and she rides the train twice a day everyday even though she has nowhere to go. When Rachel is distracted she is content. When Rachel is awake and presented with her issues she is hateful and self-destructive. To become a submissive reader to the text, one must be willing to look at what is actually being said and not judge Rachel’s drinking and antics. When we judge, we are pulled from the text. To submit to it, we must cautiously sympathize.