84 pages • 2 hours read
Ruta SepetysI Must Betray You
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2022A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Themes
Loyalty and Betrayal
The novel is a story of the relationship between loyalty and betrayal. The primary loyalty that drives Cristian is to his family. The Securitate, it seems, is aware of this dedication and intentionally takes advantage of it by promising Bunu will receive medication in exchange for the information Cristian provides. Loyalty among family members is a threat to the regime, and it must tempt its citizens to betray their family members. Cristian is burdened with a heavy sense of guilt over his decision. Though none of his family members knows that he is spying, Cristian not only fears they may discover this fact but also fears the harm this betrayal would bring to their strong bonds. Many times, Cristian considers confessing his betrayal to Bunu or Cici but refrains. He must also be constantly careful about with whom he speaks. Cristian is aware that those who appear loyal and trustworthy may not be. This reality is made manifest by the betrayals of Cristian’s sister and mother. His friendships with Luca and Liliana, however, prove genuine and, in turn, Cristian remains committed to seeing to their safety as the revolution unfolds.
Though he feels no loyalty to the regime, he must pretend to and is confident that he can trick the Securitate agent into believing that this is the case. Cristian is unaware of the ways he is being watched and that the Securitate knows his loyalties. In this way, loyalty to one’s country is also an important aspect of this theme. Because Cristian, Bunu, and others recognize that citizens are meaningless to the Ceauşescus, they feel they owe nothing to the regime. Cristian agrees to inform only because he is coerced into doing so and recognizes that the regime holds no compassion for Bunu’s suffering. He frequently notes that Ceauşescu will not hesitate to exterminate any citizen who threatens his power. Indeed, only through solidarity and loyalty to their common belief in basic human rights and freedoms can citizens overthrow the regime. Cristian comes to understand this as he sees the protest at Timişoara unfold. The commitment the citizens maintain to one another ultimately makes them stronger than the regime that oppresses them.
Self-Interest Versus Collective Interests
At the novel’s beginning, Cristian must choose whether to betray his family and others close to him by becoming an informer. Informing—providing the Securitate with information about its citizens—is considered an act of loyalty to the regime and suggests an individual condones its activity. But this is not necessarily the case. The Securitate manipulates citizens giving them little choice but to comply. This is the case with Cristian, who finds himself faced with the dilemma of becoming an informer who will provide information about the Van Dorns. The Securitate threatens to reveal his illegal activity—accepting foreign currency. Failing to comply with the agent’s request means failing to protect himself. The Securitate goes further by tempting Cristian with medication for his grandfather, Bunu. This offer, coupled with his desire to keep his actions a secret, prompts Cristian to become an informer. Though he is plagued by guilt, Cristian is adamant that he can act in the best interest of himself, his family, and his beliefs.
He and his family are faced with similar dilemmas on how to maintain self and collective preservation. They must whisper in their home to avoid being overheard. They ration Kent cigarettes and other items that can be used for bartering. While all of them have needs, whose needs are most significant is a constant issue that must be weighed.
Cici, in Cristian’s view, ultimately acts in her self-interest. Cristian is angered when he discovers not only that she seems to be informing on him—the Bruce Springsteen article is locked inside her box—but that she has hoarded a great deal of American currency, which could have eased the family’s lives. Cici explains to him that she was promised a passport for her compliance, suggesting she may hope to escape Romania in pursuit of her safety.
Cristian frequently acts in the collective interest as the novel reaches its climax. He recognizes that it is only through acting as a unified group that the people can overthrow the Ceauşescu regime. He recognizes that all of Romania’s citizens deserve freedom. Despite being severely injured, he refuses to abandon Luca, searching for him in the face of the risk this entails as Cristian is a Securitate target. In the same way, he protects Liliana, going to great lengths to ensure that she is freed. He feels an obligation to right his wrong of informing by actively protecting others around him.
The Difficulty of Finding Truth
Because any friend, neighbor, or family member could be informing, the wisest decision is to assume everyone is untrustworthy. As a consequence, however, it is difficult to know the truth. For instance, Cristian suspects Luca of informing but has no definite proof. His suspicions nag at him and as a result, he distances himself from his friend. Similarly, he worries that his family members will be able to discern that he has agreed to inform. Bunu makes frequent references to rats and spies, but Cristian cannot know to whom he is referring.
This lack of knowledge torments Cristian. He frequently wonders if citizens of free nations in the West are aware that Ceauşescu is a dangerous dictator. He is frustrated when he sees photographs of Ceauşescu and Elena with foreign leaders, interpreting this as evidence that Ceauşescu has duped them into believing a false persona. Indeed, the truth about conditions in Romania has been carefully covered up by propaganda, which portrays fertile fields with lush crops and plenty of food. Cristian is cognizant of this duplicitousness and grows increasingly frustrated that others are not. Supporters of the regime, like his mother, remain convinced that the government acts in the best interest of its citizens. Cristian maintains that the truth is otherwise, noting,
If we wanted our freedom, we’d have to fight for it. And our ruthless dictator, he would fight back. He’d mobilize his death squads of blue-eyed boys from beneath the belly of the capital to kill his own people. And he’d do it without a second thought (192).
Years later, Cristian uncovers much of the truth. He accesses the file kept on his family, which details the surveillance they conducted. That he lived under scrutiny and that many private moments were not private at all is upsetting for him. Most important, perhaps, is the information Cristian receives about his family. He finally receives some answers to questions surrounding Cici’s motivations and loyalties, which provide him with a sense of relief. The knowledge that his mother was loyal to Ceauşescu’s regime, however, is a difficult truth to comprehend. Arguably, a sense of closure and completeness is brought on by these and other truths, regardless of their unpleasantness.
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