Adams's own authorial persona provides insight and context to the interwoven voices of her characters. All the "superior women" tend to be thoughtful and reflective about their own behavior, and share their thoughts with others: "Megan has of course got over her hurt about not going down to Washington—of course Lavinia would never have asked her to. She has even been able to tell Cathy about that ludicrous fantasy, which has become another joke between them . . ."

Characters reveal themselves through their own thoughts and dialogue, but in addition to the dramatic irony created when certain of those thoughts contradict or shed a different light on what has been said or done, Adams's authorial voice lets the reader know when characters are self-deceiving or just plain wrong.

After one of Lavinia's staged departures Adams opines: "The sad part is that for all her cleverness, her assiduous scholarship...