The Hypnotist's Love Story

One facet of relationships that the novel explores is the grief that a person feels after a romantic relationship ends, whether through death or through a breakup. The narrative offers multiple examples of breakups in the characters’ lives, exploring the difficulties of losing a relationship.

As Saskia notes when Patrick ended things, “I remember thinking that it wasn’t fair. If Patrick had been killed in a car accident, I would have been allowed to grieve for him for years. People would have sent me flowers and sympathy cards; they would have dropped off casseroles” (297-8). Saskia’s example reflects that, in certain situations, a breakup can be more difficult than a death because there are no established traditions for grieving. Saskia notes that friends and loved ones want the broken-hearted person to move on: Saskia thinks, “Chop, chop. Turn those silly feelings off right now. Your love is no longer reciprocated, so it is now foolish” (298).

Saskia has a more difficult time adjusting to the loss of her mother, even though her mother was ill for an extended period. For Saskia, the loss of her mother is linked to the pain of her breakup with Patrick; in fact, she lost several family members in a short span of time.