Chapter II

The main character of The Girl on the Train has psychological disorder that is

called alcohol use disorder. Theoretically, alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a disorder in

which someone's alcohol use is unusual and problematic within 12-month period and

causes clinically significant impairment or distress (p. 490). The impairment or

distress caused or exacerbated by the alcohol use disorder may form as social or

interpersonal problems, health or psychological problems, failure in fulfilling major

obligation at school, work, and home, increasing alcohol effect tolerance, craving or

strong desire to use alcohol, etc (p. 491). The main character is indicated to suffer

alcohol use disorder because her alcohol use is excessive, uncontrollable and

damages some aspects of her life.

The main character has experienced some terrible conditions in her life. The

conditions come as the consequences of her alcohol use disorder.Some of them are

when she was being divorced by her husband and being fired by acompany. Not only

that, she cannot remember what she has done or what has been happened when she

was drunk. This condition is called blackout memory. In this chapter, the problems

that are related to the main character's alcohol use disorder like the problems that

have have been mentioned will be explained.

2.1 Failure to fulfill major obligation at work, school, and home

The main character wanted children so bad. However, she cannot have one.

So, it makes her drinking habit worsen until she became a drunk and the drinking

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then damages her carrier. The main character was worked in some firm as a PR.

However, her worsen drinking habit made her fired because of being drunk at work

and made some client inconvenient by being rude and unprofessional. It can be seen

in the following text:

"I should go after her and tell her: I was sacked months ago for

turning up blind drunk after a three-hour lunch with a client

during which I managed to be so rude and unprofessional that I

cost the firm his business." (. 107)

This condition is considered as the main character's alcohol use disorder consequence

because her alcohol use disables her to fulfill her major obligation at work.

2.2 Having persistent social or interpersonal problems caused or

exacerbated by alcohol effects

The first occuring problem that is caused by the main character's alcohol use

is her continuous alcohol use despite the fact that it brings persistent social or

interpersonal problems. For the current discussion, the main character's marriage loss

comes as the consequence of her uncontrolled alcohol use. In a consultation with a

psychiatrist the main character said that her drinking habit makes her husband leaving

her. Her husband had an affair with another woman and then divorced the main

character because she is a drunk. The main character's statement about her husband's

abandonment is shown in the citation below:

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 “Your marriage broke down, so . . . you left your husband, or

he left you, or . . . you left each other?”

“He had an affair,” I said. “He met another woman and fell in

love with her.” He nodded, waiting for me to go on. “It wasn’t

his fault, though. It was my fault.”

“Why do you say that?” “Well, the drinking started before . . .”

“So your husband’s affair was not the trigger?”

“No, I’d already started, my drinking drove him away, it was

why he stopped . . .” Kamal waited, he didn’t prompt me to go

on, he just let me sit there, waiting for me to say the words out

loud. “Why he stopped loving me,” I said. (p. 139)

The text has served one of the problems coming because of problematic alcohol use.

The main character said that her drinking has driven her husband away. This is a form

of interpersonal relationship problem caused by continuous alcohol use.

The main character's problematic action because of alcohol does not end at

her divorce. It also comes after the divorce.When her ex-husband has lived with his

new spouse, the main character often calls him. It is also done because the main

character's alcohol consumption. Most of her calls to her husband are at night when

everyone in her husband's house has been asleep. It is an unacceptable action because

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it brings disturbance to them. The citation below shows that the main character's

called her ex repeatedly after drinking alcohol:

After they’d both gone to bed I remembered that I hadn’t drunk

the second bottle, so I opened that. I sat on the sofa and

watched television with the sound turned down really low so

they wouldn’t hear it. I can’t remember what I was watching,

but at some point I must have felt lonely, or happy, or

something, because I wanted to talk to someone. The need for

contact must have been overwhelming, and there was no one I

could call except for Tom.

There’s no one I want to talk to except for Tom. The call log

on my phone says I rang four times: at 11:02,11:12, 11:54,

12:09. Judging from the length of the calls, I left two messages.

He may even have picked up, but I don’t remember talking to

him. I remember leaving the first message; I think I just asked

him to call me. That may be what I said in both of them, which

isn’t too bad. (p. 13)

The text above contains the main character's drinking and her action coming because

of the alcohol effect. She said that at that night she wanted to talk to someone and that

someone is Tom her ex-husband. So she gave him some phone calls but firstly she

did not remember anything except knowing from her phone's call log that she called

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Toma couple times. However, in the next day, she saw a child who is her ex-husband

and his new wife's. Being influenced by the sudden sadness of the fact of her

unability to give her ex husband a child, she closed her eyes as hard as she can and

the things about what she has said when calling her ex-husband come to her memory.

It is shown in the citation below:

And now, without thinking, I find myself looking

directly into my house, and I can’t look away. The French

doors are flung open, light streaming into the kitchen. I can’t

tell, I really can’t, whether I’m seeing this or imagining it— is

she there, at the sink, washing up? Is there a little girl sitting in

one of those bouncy baby chairs up there on the kitchen table?

I close my eyes and let the darkness grow and spread until it

morphs from a feeling of sadness into something worse: a

memory, a flashback. I didn’t just ask him to call me back. I

remember now, I was crying. I told him that I still loved him,

that I always would.Please, Tom, please, I need to talk to you. I

miss you. No no no no no no no. (p. 14).

The thing that she said in her voicemail call to Tom at the night is her unwill to be

separated with him. Because of the constant calls are unbearable for him and his new

family, Tom was annoyed and on the next day he called her to tell the main character

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that she had been so bothering. The citation below is the textual evidence that the

main character's calls are annoying for Tom and his new wife:

“Rachel, it’s me.” His voice is leaden, he sounds worn out.

“Listen, you have to stop this, OK?” I don’t say anything. The

train is slowing, and we are almost opposite the house, my old

house. I want to say to him, Come outside, go and stand on the

lawn. Let me see you. “Please, Rachel, you can’t call me like

this all the time. You’ve got to sort yourself out.” There is a

lump in my throat as hard as a pebble, smooth and obstinate. I

cannot swallow. I cannot speak. “Rachel? Are you there? I

know things aren’t good with you, and I’m sorry for you, I

really am, but . . . I can’t help you, and these constant calls are

really upsetting Anna. OK? I can’t help you anymore. Go to

AA or something. Please, Rachel. Go to an AA meeting after

work today.” (p.15).

Tom has been worn because of the calls andit is also upsetting forhis new wife Anna.

He also told her that she has to go to an AA. AA is a support group for persons who

want to cope with alcoholism.So, since the main character's action when under

alcohol influence has given disturbance to others, it is considered as a social problem

caused by the alcohol use.

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 The next inconvenience that is caused by the main character's alcohol use is

sending an email to Tom. It is a form of inconvenience because the email contains

some rude words. This action is once again is done when she was influenced by

alcohol. At some of what the main character tells her ex-husband, she insult his ex's

child by saying that she is an ugly brat. The citation is the main character's statement

that she has sent an email to Tom:

I have written to him, he just hasn’t replied. Yet. The email

was sent just after eleven last night; I’d been drinking for a

good few hours by then. That adrenaline and booze buzz I had

earlier on would have been long gone. I click on the message.

Could you please tell your

wife to stop lying to the

police about  me?  Pretty low,

don’t you think, trying to get

me into trouble? Telling

police I’m obsessed with her

and her ugly brat?  

She needs to get over herself.

Tell her to leave me the fuck alone.(p.78)

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The citation contains the way of the main character expressing her anger at her ex

husband's new wife. The anger comes because Anna also had told the police that the

main character is a drunk. The main character wrote that she wants Tom to tell her

wife to stop lying to the police and making her gets into trouble. In fact, Anna is right

that the main character had done things that disturb her family. So, it is considered as

the next social problem caused or exacerbated by the main character's alcohol use

since when under the influence of alcohol she became rude.

The email sent to Tom is not the only email she sent at the night because the

main character also sent one to Scott. This man is the one who has been desperated

because of losing his wife. The main character actually has no relationship with Scott,

and his missing wife, Megan. However, the main character's depression because of

being divorced by her husband made her fantasize Scott and Megan's marriage life in

order to fulfill her wish to have a perfect marriage. When she sees the couple from the

train, she always fixes her view to Megan and Scott while imaginging what they are

up to. And when Megan disappears, the main character thought that she is the one

knowing something important about the case. So, she sent Megan's husband an email

telling him that she has something he needs to know. Beside that, she also lies

bytellingScott that she is one of Megan's friends. The citation below is the main

character's email for Scott:

I remember. Sitting on the sofa, halfway through the second

bottle, I realized that I didn’t want my part to be over. I wanted

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 to be at the heart of it. So I wrote to him. I scroll down from his

email to mine.

Dear Scott,

Sorry for contacting you again, but I feel it’s important

that we talk. I’m not sure if Megan  ever mentioned me

to you—I’m a friend from the gallery—I used to live in

Witney. I think I have information that would

interest you. Please email me back on this address. 

Rachel Watson (p. 80-81)

The email content is the main character's persuassion to Scott. She said that they have

to talk because she has an information for him. The information is about the main

character witnessing Megan's affair. In fact, what the main character has seen is just

not true because Megan and Kamal--a man the main character thought Megan has an

affair with-- do not have an affair. Kamal is a psychiatrist helping Megan to cope

with her psychological problems. The main character's thought their affair comes

because she saw them kissing in front of Megan's house from the train. The truth is

that it is just a friendly kiss when Megan thanks Kamal that he has been there to help

calmimg her about her anxious. The following citation is Megan's statement about her

kiss with Kamal:

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 He puts his arms around me and kisses me. “Thank you,” I say.

“Thank you for coming, for being here.” He smiles, drawing

back from me, and rubs his thumb across my cheekbone.

“You’ll be fine, Megan.”

“Couldn’t I just run away with you? You and I . . . couldn’t we

just run away together?” He laughs. “You don’t need me. And

you don’t need to keep running. You’ll be fine. You and your

baby will be fine.” (p.)

The citation is clear enough that Megan and Kamal has no special relationship

although she asked him to run away with her. Previously, Megan had tried to have an

affair with Kamal, but he has convinced her that it is wrong, and they should not have

to do that.

However, the main character's alcohol use does not allow her to have a clear

thought. Her thought that Kamal has been cheated with Megan made her tell Scott

that she has the information which can be useful to solve Megan's disappearance case.

The following citation shows the main character's statement about her bad alcohol

effect:

I can feel the heat come to my face, my stomach a pit of acid.

Yesterday—sensible, clearheaded, right-thinking—I decided I

must accept that my part in this story was over. But my better

angels lost again, defeated by drink, by the person I am when I

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 drink. Drunk Rachel sees no consequences, she is either

excessively expansive and optimistic or wrapped up in hate.

She has no past, no future. She exists purely in the moment.

Drunk Rachel— wanting to be part of the story, needing a way

to persuade Scott to talk to her—she lied. I lied. (p. 80-81)

The main character knew that she has done something wrong, but it has been late. She

has sent the email to Scott that no point for her to regret what she has done. This

email sending then brings a bad consequence to the main character because when

Scott knows that the main character has lied to him, he gets mad at her. The following

citation is when the main character's lie has been revealed:

My face is hot, there is cold sweat under my armpits and at the

base of my spine. “Apparently Anna’s been complaining about

you. She’s seen you hanging around. So that’s how it all came

out. I said, ‘We’re not in a relationship, she’s just an old friend

of Megan’s, she’s helping me out.’” He laughs again, low and

mirthless. “She said, ‘She doesn’t know Megan. She’s just a

sad little liar with no life.’” The smile faded from his face.

“You’re all liars. Every last one of you.” (p.)

The main character was so shocked when she knew that Scott has known her lie. This

consequence is the another form of the main character's bad alcohol use effect

because it brings her one more interpersonal problem.

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9. Alcohol use is continued despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent

physical or psychological problems caused or exacerbated by the effects of alcohol

Although having known that there will come some problems if she uses alcohol, the

main character still takes some of it.

"I could not breathe (p. 29)

Her knowledge about the occuring problems is stated in:

"I am exhausted (p.25)

"I finish the second (p. 30)

"I got bored around (p. 105)

"Upstairs, later I've had too much drink (p. 106)

" I know that I should pour (p. 106)

"I can see her now (p. 118)

"I told him that (p.138)

4. Craving, or strong desire to use alcohol

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"I want a drink so badly (p. 70)

"I wake with (p. 85)

"I did, I wanted a drink (p. 88)

"...and in any case (p. 92)

"I lie in bed for a bit (p. 141)

2. Persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control alcohol use

The statement about the main character's wish to not use alcohol

"There is a long pause (p. 52)

Her desire to use alcohol

I want a drink so badly (p.70)

Her failed effort to not use alcohol

"Then she told me (p. 75)

"with a joyful (p. 77)

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The main character wants to stop drinking

"I didn't tell her how (p. 126)

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