# Truth, Lies, and Self-Deception in The Getting of Wisdom

> Theme guide for The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson.

Laura's elaborate lies to gain status and her subsequent punishment form a central plot, exploring the social function of deception, the harsh judgment of peers, and the conflict between a romantic imagination and the rigid demand for factual truth.

## Where it surfaces

- [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/vi): Laura admits to lying about finishing her lessons, and her mother warns that fibbing leads to worse things; Laura later denies the behavior.
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/vii): Laura's initial confidence in her knowledge is shattered as she realizes her own ignorance, and she begins to hide her struggles to avoid further shame.
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/ix): Laura deceives herself about her own cleverness until Miss Hicks's words force a painful self-awareness; she also hides the full truth of her holiday from her mother.
- [The Purple Dress and the Price of Conformity](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/x): Laura lies about her dress not arriving and invents an 'old nurse' to explain her mother's poor darning, revealing her deep discomfort with her home life.
- [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/xi): Laura's secret about her mother's work and her subsequent lies to maintain social standing illustrate the theme of deception.
- [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/xii): Laura is honest with herself about her feelings during the expulsion, recognizing that she was more fascinated than horrified, which conflicts with the expected moral response.
- [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/xiii): The girls' knowledge is a 'strange jumble' of fact and fantasy; their theories about sex are fantastic and distorted, showing how secrecy breeds deception.
- [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/xvii): Laura's elaborate fabrications about Mr. Shepherd highlight the theme of deception, as she constructs a false reality to gain social standing and avoid humiliation.
- [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/xviii): Laura's elaborate lies about a romance with Mr. Shepherd are exposed, leading to her social ruin. The chapter explores the consequences of deception and the way lies can take on a life of their own, as Laura begins to believe her own fabrications.
- [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/xix): Laura's reputation as a liar leads to her being blamed for Chinky's theft; she struggles to defend the difference between fabricating stories and stealing. Her own self-deception is evident in her continued fantasy-making on the beach.
- [The Rebel's Return](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/xx): Laura's internal conflict between her rebellious thoughts and her outward conformity, and the philosophical debate about the nature and utility of truth.
- [XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/xxi): Laura's pedantic truth-telling and suspicion of others stem from her earlier exposure; her literary efforts also grapple with the truth of everyday life versus romantic falsehood.
- [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/xxii): Laura confesses her fabricated romance with Mr. Shepherd to Evelyn, who laughs it off, reframing the lie as cleverness rather than shame.
- [XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/xxiv): Laura hides her academic failure and her mother's work from others, leading to feelings of guilt and isolation.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/themes/truth_and_deception
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/themes