Reply To: TRWR: What role do secrets play in the novel?
Jane and Nancy, those are such good summaries! So many secrets in this story. People keep them for so many reasons; some, like you said, Jane, do it out of shame; some do it to protect. Some secrets are kept because they are just too painful to reveal, too, and people don’t want to have to deal with the emotional impact of that, so bury those thoughts, and just try to move on with their lives. It’s a form of self-preservation in that case. I think both Brody and Angie did that, too, though I think both benefited from finally being able to let those secrets out and not be judged by one another. Sometimes things just have to be said, at least once, to another human being. Their sharing of their experiences allowed them to find comfort in one another, and built trust, and enriched their relationship.
