Learning Through Humiliation
The Joke You Cannot Unsay
Emma plays at being attached to Frank because the play is entertaining and locally visible. When he leaves, she is relieved to find she was never false to a real attachment. The sting is different: she has been on a stage. Other people may have read the performance more accurately than she did.
Key Insight
There is a particular shame in being seen pretending. It is not heartbreak. It is the discovery that your audience was not under your direction.
