Tales of the City

There is a pervading air of secrecy throughout the novel; practically every character hides some element of the truth. While this might be expected from someone like Beauchamp, even the more innocent—such as Mary Ann—eventually find something they need to hide. By the final chapter, for example, Mary Ann is keeping the death of Norman as quiet as she can, and she has refused to alleviate herself of the findings in Norman’s report. She swears Michael to secrecy, even if she has told him nothing more than that the report exists. That this turn to secrecy is tied to her first trip across the bridge is a literary flourish; Michael tells her that “‘I can’t believe it […] there’s something you’ve never done’” (267). The comment is laden in irony, but it also refers to secret-keeping just as much as it does visiting a specific tourist spot.

For many characters, secrecy is tied to sexuality. Both Mona and Michael hide their sexuality from loved ones. Mona does not tell Michael about D’orothea, while Michael struggles to tell his parents. There are plenty of emotional motivations for this, including shame, fear, guilt, and many others—but the emotions are typically internalized.