The Talented Mr. Ripley Chapter Summary & Analysis - Chapter 19 Summary

Chapter 19 Summary

When Tom/Dickie gets off the boat in Palermo, he is relieved that there are no police on the dock to arrest him. There is also no message from the Roman police at the hotel. If only Dickie could have remained happy with Tom, he thinks, none of this would ever have happened. The two of them could have been happy together forever. As it was, Tom feels he had no choice but to kill Dickie. He considers writing Marge a letter telling her bluntly that Dickie is much happier with Tom than he ever was with Marge. Instead, Tom/Dickie types a long letter to the Greenleafs in New York about the unfortunate demise of Freddie Miles, who the Greenleafs know slightly. At one time, Tom/Dickie assumed he would soon have the Greenleafs eating out of his hand, supplementing his income with additional thousands. To Tom's disappointment, that has not occurred.