In an exchange with her mother, Evelyn expresses an unwillingness to trust others (“I do not want to place my belief in someone and then be forced to watch as they lead me over a cliff edge,” p. 14). How does this lack of trust impact her life?
Her reaction is pretty understandable considering she was so blindsided by her father’s downfall and her mother’s failure to give her any warning. She is limited by the gender restrictions of her time, but she summons her considerable resilience to try to find some financial independence. Her experience of being lead “over a cliff edge” makes her cautious about immediately trusting other people, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and probably more frank and upfront in dealing with them. She’s probably figured that if she has more financial control of her life she can make personal decisions based on what she truly wants rather than what she has to accept in order to survive.
I agree with Rosemary. She was limited in moving forward with her involvement with William also because she had been so disappointed by her father and wanted to maintain personal control of her actions rather than be guided by the influence of others.
Evelyn was a bit closed off. She really had no close friends,and in the beginning, had no boyfriend. She was lonely having only her mother a companion - and her mother had her head in the sand - deep in the sand!
This lack of trust almost costs her not only the bookshop that she enjoys so much, but also the man that she clearly loves.
Her inability to trust was sad. Almost lost everything and made her life much more stressful.