“Ask no questions, and you’ll be told no lies.”
– Charles Dickens
Great Expectations, Chapter 2. Mrs. Joe responds in a bitter way to the child Pip’s natural curiosity and his asking questions about escaped convicts and warning shots fired. She suggests that the world is so full of liars, it is better to stay quiet. In Victorian society people like Mrs. Joe believed that children should be seen and not heard, making it difficult for them to learn.