like the island

Patricia Highsmith has exhibited a mastery of moving a plot forward with her novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, turning situations into complications that work to enrich character as well as provide necessary information to the reader.

In chapter seven of The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing, Monica Wood gives advice on crafting a plot that builds on itself. Her guidelines for writing a novel that people will want to read dictate that the novel’s plot contain one very vital thing—she refers to it as a point of departure. The point of departure is brought about by a complication that causes a character “not only to act, but to act with purpose.” Highsmith has crafted some really amazing complications in this first Ripley novel, but let’s take a look at the biggest one:

SPOILER ALERT: One of the novel’s first story sparks is in chapter 11, when everything Tom’s been dealing with comes to a head just before he offs Dickie Greenleaf. First, Dickie proves to be no fun at all when he refuses to be shipped to Paris in a coffin with Tom. Then the two get in this tiff outside a bar and Tom realized that his love for Dickie is probably unrequited. Tom gets all paranoid (as he is wont to do) that Dickie doesn’t want him around, and the final blow comes with Mr. Greenleaf’s sarcastic, dismissive letter that cuts off his funding. Up to this point in the novel, Tom’s been dealing with dissatisfaction in his own life and also some weird abandonment/trust issues. He wants a life like Dickie Greenleaf’s, and he’s about to get just what he’s been wishing for.

Cue complication.

Monica Wood says “a good complication must either illuminate, thwart, or alter what a character wants.” I would argue that the complication here in chapter eleven of Mr. Ripley does all three. Here, we see the epitome of everything Tom’s been desiring condensed into a single character—Dickie Greenleaf. We also see what Tom wants being kept from him. By chapter twelve, Tom’s desires slightly: he goes from wanting to be like Dickie to wanting to actually be Dickie. CREEPY. And then of course, the point of departure comes along when Tom decided to beat Dickie over the head with a rowing oar.

Another important thing happening with the complications is character enrichment. As the plot moves forward, we delve deeper and deeper into the recesses of Tom Ripley’s mind (though technically, we never really get inside it, as the story is told from a third person, limited POV.)

When Marge comes to Rome to check up Dickie and Tom is forced to revert back to himself, the plot becomes complicated but we also learn more about Tom and Tom’s self-hate. As he’s paying attention to his posture, his voice, and his mannerisms, we’re seeing things about him that we weren’t really paying attention to or being told in the introductory chapters of the novel.

So essentially, what I’ve learned from Highsmith is that getting creative doesn’t mean that you have to break the rules, especially when it comes to plot thickening—in fact, some of the best crafting comes from following all the rules to a tee.