ENGLISH LITERATURE

ATONEMENT
IAN McEWAN

Briony Tallis-character profile

 The novel presents a story told by the character narrator, Briony Tallis , the
youngest daughter of the three children of Tallis family in the summer of 1935. The
whole world of the novel gravitates around Briony Tallis. The novel begins with the visit
of the maternal cousins , the twins Jackson and Pierrot and 15 year old Lola. The family
also expect a visit from the older brother of the family, Leon and his friend, Paul
Marshall, a rich boy.
The relation between Briony and her older sister Cecilia is built in parallel with
the existence of the Robert Turner, the son of the housekeeper, who had graduated from
Cambrige in the same time with Cecilia.
Briony is a 13 years old girl who discovers her passion for words, writing and
secrets, at the beginning of the book she has already written her first play. Briony is a
girl with an extended and vivid imagination and a penchant for making up stories which
she wont hesitate to use in her every day life when she becomes witness of some
embarrassing events between her sister and Robert Tuner.
We can say that the source of all her actions during the story , which sometimes
had distructive effects on their lifes, is represented by the feelings she had for Robert
Turner from the moment she was saved by him from drowning. Since then she waits
him to be the prince charming on a white horse, that is expected by all the girls once in a
life time. Starting this point, everything she will see and do will be exaggerated, distorted
acts that had unpredictable effects on the destiny of each of those involved in the story.
Briony exaggerate the scene in which her sister jumps almost naked in the
artesian fountain to take out the broken vase in the presence of Robert.It is the moment
the two, Cecilia and Robert understand they have feelings and that he's fallen hopelessly,
passionately in love with her but his social status doesnt allow him to involve in this
kind of relation, he being the the housekeepers son and she is the rich girl of the
masters. This could be the reason why he wants to leave and study mdicine to become a
doctor. In order to stay away from her on one hand, because he is concinced that the
love between them is impossible and on the other hand because its the only way he can
overcome his social condition.
Briony is the one Robert accidentally gives a letter he meant to destroy ,written
for her sister, Cecilia, in which he tells her exactly what he wants to do with her. Briony
commits an unacceptable and unforgivable act, even it is about her sisters
correspondence, letters never open if they arent yours. Reading the letter feeds Briony's
imagination that culminates with the scene in which she surprises the two in the library
and imagines that Robert aggresses her sister.
It is not known whether from jealousy to her sister or to revenge against
Robert, she admits to the police that the one who violated her cousin is Robert.
Although she did not see the face of the one she had seen in the forest, she is convinced
that is was Robert .
Surely Briony did not do all this in order to protect her sister, but later, when
she became a young woman ready to go to college, she realized the tragism of the effects
of her actions. Feeling so remorsed , she refused to go to college ,choosing to become a
nurse like her sister to care for the wounded soldiers in the battles of the Second World
War. We can not say for sure that her gesture of becoming a nurse is a real one, or has
as a substrat the meeting with Robert who had escaped from prison by joining the
army. Deep in her heart Briony hoped all that time to meet Robert Taylor, either because
of her remorse, or because he was the man she dreamed about and maybe she is still
dreaming of.
Briony Tallis is a young girl ,naive and immature at the beginning of the book ,
who thinks the world revolves around her and understands everything she sees even
though she really doesnt. Misunderstanding is the basis of the entire plot of the book.
Briony witnesses a series of events (fountain scene, letter, library, forest) that make her
to believe that Robbie raped Lola. In fact, she misinterpreted everything she saw and
accused the wrong person of rape. Briony realizes the gravity of what she has done and
tries to atone for her sins.
At the start of the novel she is very naive, childish and selfish. Once she reaches
eighteen she gives up her dreams of university in order to become a nurse in the war, an
attempt to atone for her sins by helping people in the same position as Robbie. She starts
to realise that her actions brought consequences that she was oblivious too. Not only
affecting Robbie but also her mother and Cecilia.
She is the catalyst of the entire novel, she grows up with the novel, she realises
that it wasnt right to get involved in situations that do not concern her, she
understands the effects her actions have upon poeple and the fact that she cant have
control over all situations. If it wasnt Briony there wouldnbe any misunderstanding
and there wouldnt be any atonement.
 Even she is a perfectionist, and aware that she is an upper-class familys daughter
this does not represent an impediment for her to have feelings for Robert Taylor.
Instead when the police investigates the rape of her cousine Robert is more likely to
have done it because he is the housekeepers boy than Paul Mashall who is a chocolate
magnates son.
The type of relation between Briony and her sister, Cecilia, it isnt clearly defined.
She wants to be protective, when she thinks she isprotecting her sister from a maniac
when in fact she was just ruining them. This is an example of her need to control
everything and the fact that she thinks shes right about everything no matter what. On
the other hand, she may be jealous of her sister who is very close to Robert.
Briony interacts in the novel more with Robert than with her sister, this
interaction makes her act strangely in his presence and judge his every gesture because
she wants and expects much from the people and the world around her. Even in the
novel she never admits having some expectations from Robert, we can interpret her
actions and everything she had done like this.
In the last part of the novel, when she became a nurse, Briony is not as self-
centred anymore and after she learns a lot about the severity of the war she starts
thinking about other peoples lives for the first time in a sincere way and she wants to
atone the damages she has done to their lives.
At the end of the book ,old and diagnosed with dementia, she writes Atonement
because it is the only way she can be atoned for what she did, before she forgets
everything. Understanding all the damages caused to Cecilia and Robert she brings them
together in the book, even they both died during the Second World War. She finally
understands how big a mess she created through her childish actions and naivety.
Briony continues to seek forgiveness for her childhood misdeed. Through a
terrible and courageous act of imagination, she finds the path to her uncertain
atonement and to an understanding of the power of enduring love.