Evelyn and William are both dishonest about important aspects of their lives. Do you think either did the right thing by concealing the truth? How might their situations have been better or worse had they been honest with each other and with their friends?
Both of their lives would have been 
percent better if they had been honest with their friends and with each other. It does not pay to lie or have secrets.
Yes, it would have been better for each of them, but then what kind of book would it have been written without this theme.
Rarely does it serve people to lie, or keep secrets. Whenever I am reading a book, or watching a movie where characters lie and keep secrets, I want to scream at them and say “you are creating so many problems, misunderstandings and heartache with your lies and secrets. Just tell the truth” But then there would be no conflict, and possibly no story! Ha..
I agree Evelyn and William made their lives very difficult by keeping secrets from one another.
They possibly could have helped one another if they had known the truth. But has it has been said. It wouldn’t have made a good book.
I don’t think that it’s every right to lie but both of them felt like they needed to keep parts of their lives hidden from each other to become friends. I agree with other comments that the secrets were needed to make the book more interesting!
Again - honesty is paramount. Had Evelyn and William not withheld their secrets there would not have been a book…lol! Those secrets would not have some out early in the relationship - so by the time they did appear both would have known if the relationship was right and if they were in it for long haul.
They both would have been better off just saying what they felt and getting to the point. They spent too much time tap dancing around their feelings. I was getting to the point in the book where I didn’t care if they got together or not because I was over all the charades Evelyn and William kept playing with one another!
I have never read a book in which dishonesty helped. So much time wasted, but they both had problems with trust. They were both embarrassed by their situations.
Never a good idea to be dishonest and to keep things from your loved ones, but fiction writers always include it to spice up their stories. It’s just annoying to me.
The norms of Victorian society prevented them from revealing many of their truths, however confiding in each other would most certainly given them much needed mental support. The most logical person for William to confide in would have been his uncle. I think his uncle and Evelyn’s great aunt might have provided good counsel, but the young people wouldn’t have dared to hope for support like that.
Honesty is the best policy…always! Yes their lives would gave been easier! Life and books often parallel each other. With all that said..honestly, the deception made the story flow and kept us wondering…what’s next!