Robert had drawn a study of a patient lying before a closed curtain. He showed this drawing to his brother Doug, who suggested adding a second figure glimpsed behind the curtain. Doug was a student of 19th century literature and fascinated by the theme of the double. Artists often work through alter-egos. A double is a kind of alter-ego, a projection of one’s personality into the world where it takes physical form. In literature, these projections and alter-egos can haunt and confuse, and at times appear to take over the characters who first imagine them. The shadow behind the curtain represents what the patient fears he will become, an insubstantial specter, a body that’s not quite alive and not yet dead. Of course, the painting can be read on a more realistic level: the patient is aware of another patient behind a dividing curtain. Lack of privacy is a major challenge patients face in hospitals, though friendships can also develop along with a sense of being part of a community who share common challenges.