Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train uses the theme of an unstable history to depict how her characters’ pasts still plague their present lives. A prime example is Rachel. Because she has had a perfect life with Tom; therefore, even years after their divorce and after Tom cheated on her, Rachel still fantasizes about reuniting with her ex-husband and incorporates her fantasy into the lives of her imagined couple, Jess and Jason, claiming “they’re what I lost, they’re everything I want to be” (9). Instead of concentrating on her present life and working on her alcohol issue, Rachel is being distracted by her past. Moreover, there is Mengen, whose past heavily influences her in the present day. Unlike Rachel, Megan had a damaged history before
