Why do you think Eva kept her secret about Ernst even when June told her about what happened with Elwood? How do their experiences differ?
I’ve read many, many books centered on WWII. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to be in Eva’s shoes. I certainly don’t blame her for keeping that to herself.
Despite the fact that Eva was defending her friend/employer, she killed a man, buried then unburied and dumped his body. Her sharing this story carried the risk that June would not be sympathetic, and she might even send her away. This was her first friend since the war began, she valued that too much.
The main difference is that Eva killed a man, June just buried a dead one. And Eva was petrified of being sent back to Russia.
Eva had more to lose than June. Eva could have been deported or extradited for her crime.
As others have noted, the situations were not comparable. And Eva did not trust June yet. She did not know her at all and had only been interacting with her for a brief time. She recognized that June was emotionally unhinged, but did feel sorry for her. Still, Eva fled because she and Louise were women with few rights who would be charged with murder because their claims of self-defense and defense of another would not have been believed. Eva could not risk June reporting her and being deported to Russia, which she equated with certain death in a gulag.
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Eva and June had two very different situations. Eva murdered a man. Yes, to save her employer and herself, but she still dealt the life end blow. June was trying to cover up a death that she was not responsible for in and of itself. She was trying to buy herself time. Plus, I’m not sure given what Eva had been through if she really knew how to trust anyone with all her secrets.
I think that Eva was afraid that she would be sent back to Russia and didn’t trust anyone enough to share her secret with.
Eva had more to lose than June, as she actually killed someone, although it was self defense. Eva also was an immigrant, lied on her immigration forms, and was always afraid of being deported. So a much different situation than June, who was already a US citizen. Elwood committed suicide but June still maintained that secret for quite some time, even finishing his manuscripts under his name. Elwood’s death might not have been preventable, but Ernst’s might have been, at the cost of Eva’s friend though.
I agree with the above participants. Eva had too much to loose. She participated in a murder and did strike to fatal blow. She helped bury and subsequently hide the body. She lied on her immigration forms…Her fear of deportation based upon these acts kept her from sharing until such time that she trusted June and perhaps wanted to unburden herself.