Mister Impossible: “Tamquam...”
So, Ronan and Adam’s way of saying they love each other is one of them, usually Ronan saying “Tamquam” and the other completing the sentense by answering “alter idem”.
This was Cicero’s phrase to describe the deep connection between friends (”as if a second self”). And in the context of pynch, such a deep connection between lovers is the equivalent of being soulmates.
Ronan’s “Tamquam…” remaining unanswered is an important character-arc point throughout Mister Impossible and it’s not just for the sake of drama.
Ronan feels lost. There is a part in Opal’s short story during which he hears of Gansey’s experiences and when they close the phone he breaks apart. And now he thinks that Adam has found a way to belong (which is hardly true) while he is still unable to fit in.
Ronan is CRAVING to have his ‘second self’ his soulmate in his life and is despairing, but at the same time he has unconsciously created a LITERAL second self in Bryde.
Throughout the book Ronan needs the answer and he suppresses that need (which manifests in different ways, like the wheel incident).
That said, Adam did answer. When Ronan asks why Adam did not text back, Adam answers that he did the moment he managed and that he couldn’t have known that Ronan would discard his phone, which is a very valid point, not to mention that Adam had been continuously trying to contact Ronan. Moreover, we see that Ronan was self-sabotaging his communication with Adam.
At some point there is a mention of how not having Adam’s answer made it easier for Ronan to be away. When Declan says that Ronan is a follower, he’s right. He follows because he need of belonging is so consuming that he needs to feel part of a group, however small, and he needs validation and guidance, which he has hardly had with the bare minimum of parenting he receives.
Ronan wants to change the world but instead of actively pursuing his dream he manifests the part of his psyche that has the qualities needed to pursue said dream. Cutting ties with his ‘alter idem’ from his social circle brings him closer to his actual ‘alter idem’ which he has been afraid to embrace to the point that it has taken life of its own and he is not holding the rails anymore.
By realising both Bryde’s identity and Declan and Adam’s ‘betrayal’ Ronan hits rock bottom because he feels that the people with whom he wants to belong have completely rejected and are afraid of the part of him that dreams and that is willing to make a life for himself and those like him. And at the same time he can’t even fully trust the part of himself which he’s trying to make fit into the world.
The level of alienation he feels is heartbreaking and it’s masterfully tied to how ‘tamquam alter idem’ is Ronan’s understanding of acceptance and love.
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