The oath of secrecy

Such a good question! It points right to the heart of Beth’s betrayal of Mab and Osla. Her actions made me wonder why would she do that? How could she do that? And could I forgive her like Osla and Mab (maybe to lesser extent) did? I wasn’t wholly convinced with Beth’s reasons for not telling her friends and admit I thought she was wrong in not warning her friends of the danger. I don’t think she reasoned it out because I think, like Mab points out, that she could have worked around betraying her oath, but saving lives and her friends’ heartache. I don’t think I would have done what Beth did, because I do think Mab and Osla proved tremendously loyal and trustworthy. They would not have betrayed her secret, especially knowing the consequences would be execution or imprisonment. But kudos to Kate Quinn for creating such a dramatic moral dilemma. I think she did a wonderful job of creating a shocking moment for both her characters and her readers. What were your thoughts when you read it?

I’m sure there have been people in history that have kept secrets that have cost them dearly. How many would do it? I’m not sure. I think such life and death choices and whether or not a person would keep a secret at such personal cost would depend on the circumstance and their mental and moral fortitude. Obviously, spies are taught to keep dangerous secrets. But I’m sure real-life spy work is very different from what we see in movies and read in books. That said I find it remarkable that so many of the Bletchley women in real life did keep their secrets, and many to their grave. I read that at Bletchley, secrets flowed a little more freely than maybe Kate Quinn lets on in the novel (many members kept tabs on their friends and loved ones and share that information with each other but likely did not have the power to change any outcomes. But overall the women (and men) who worked there had a remarkable sense of duty.

I don’t think I could keep a secret that would threaten the lives of my family or friends. It would just devastate me and I don’t think I could do it. I think I would rather live with the personal consequences of revealing the secret than put the lives of my loved ones in mortal danger. If the secret would make me lose the love of my life? I think this one is more of a dilemma because I think it would depend on the secret? So for example, if keeping the secret would save lives, then a broken heart wouldn’t outweigh saving other people’s lives, IMO.