In this passage (page 168), Anne laments that she cannot be her real self in the company of others. The singer and pianist Billy Joel made a similar observation in his song "The Stranger."
"Well we all have a face That we hide away forever We take it out and show ourselves When everyone has gone Some are satin Some are steel Some are silk And some are leather They're the faces of the stranger But we love to try them on."
Both noticed that everyone acts different when they are around people. Joel took it one step further and made a metaphor for the way we act when we are by ourselves and compared it to a mask. When we are alone, there is no reason at all for us to lie to ourselves. But when we are with others, we are trying to impress them and make them think highly of us. We are sometimes afraid to show our true feelings.
What Shaunish said is of complete truth. People in books and also in the living world act as somone their not, in attemps to be pleasing, popular, or appreciated. "Showing our true feelings" is something Anne has confessed to Kitty that she wished she could do, along with most of us who hide our inner self to put on a facad that is more appealing to the common public. (Morgan H)
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