Coping with loneliness

Each of the main characters of the book copes with loneliness one way or another, thematically uniting them and showing the reader situational loneliness is handled differently by different people but in the end all of their tactics are unsuccessful because they do not trust others enough to seek help.

Catherine isolates herself even further after receiving The Perfect Stranger. Stephen channels the loneliness from losing his family by constructing a plot to honor them by taking revenge on Catherine. Robert reacts to the loneliness felt from learning his wife slept with someone else by completely shutting her out and trying to get their son to side with them. Nicholas deals with his loneliness from being told his mother does not love him by abusing drugs and alcohol.

Because each character copes with their loneliness individually without the support of others, each ends up...