The Girl on the Train Isolation

You'd think in a city like London, which is bustling with people, that you'd never feel alone. But many people do. It can be like swimming in a sea of strangers, and it can feel intensely lonely. Despite having a lot in common, the female characters in The Girl on the Train don't really interact with one another in a friendly way. Hence the title The Girl on the Train instead of Girls on the Train. There may be a whole crowd of commuters, but Rachel feels entirely alone.

Questions About Isolation

1. Megan, Anna, and Rachel often feel lonely. Whose fault is it that they're lonely? Could you see any of them being friends?
2. Do the male characters ever get lonely?
3. Why does Rachel choose to be by herself at the end of the book?
4. Megan is scared of being alone, yet she plans on running away. Would that plan of hers have worked if Tom hadn't killed her?

Chew on This

Rachel's alcoholism is once again a brutal spiral. She drinks because she's alone, and no one wants to spent time with her because she's drunk.

Megan has the courage to run away at the end only because she's not by herself: She's pregnant again.