Strangers On A Train

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1950

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Chapters 44-45

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 44 Summary

Bruno dines with Anne, mistakenly interpreting Gerard's vacation as a sign he hasn't found them out. Anne ponders whether Bruno might have arranged his father's murder. The idea that Bruno might have killed Miriam crosses her mind. She dislikes Bruno and can't understand why Guy tolerates him. Anne asks Bruno whether he and Guy fought in March. Guy realizes Anne is gradually discerning the truth. Guy says he will tell Anne, and she tells him she is pregnant.

Chapter 45 Summary

Bruno calls, triumphantly announcing to Guy that Gerard is on holiday. Guy and Bob Treacher have breakfast together. Anne invites Bruno sailing, so that she can observe them together again. Bruno forces Guy to say that they are best friends, as Anne watches silently. Bruno falls overboard. Guy jumps in after him, but Bruno drowns.

Chapters 44-45 Analysis

Another of Highsmith's puns alleviates some of the tension in these chapters, which increasingly spell doom for the murderous duo. Bruno's assertion that Guy is a certain "caliber" of person undergoes a bathetic plunge when detective Gerard fires back, "The only caliber ever worth considering is the gun's" (232). Gerard's linguistic dexterity here emphasizes his position of power. He announces that it is his "twin track mind" that helps him solve such cases (243).