Disclaimer & Trigger Warning: Mentions of rape/sexual assault and book spoilers ahead
Atonement
A novel written by Ian McEwan that is set in three different time periods. 1935 England, The second World War between England and France, and present day. The story follows the lives of two sisters, Cecelia and Briony Tallis, and their family friend, Robbie Turner. Briony, a young 13 year old girl’s half-innocent mistake ruins the life of a good man, and guilt ultimately follows and haunts her into adulthood. Early on in the novel, Briony witnesses a man raping her cousin at night, in which she presumes it was Robbie due to a lewd letter he wrote addressed to her sister, Cecilia. Briony publicly accuses him of assaulting her cousin and he’s sent to jail until he’s released to join the army. There are three aspects in this book I want to explore that made it such a memorable read (and watch, if you prefer movies) for me: Perspective, Guilt, and Social Class.
Later on, Briony realizes the severity of her accusation and wishes to make amends with Cecelia for sending the love of her life, Robbie Turner to jail and essentially, war. The novel’s postscript is written in the present day by a now 77-year-old Briony. She confesses that she wrote the novel, and that she invented a happy ending for the otherwise true story as a way to atone for her mistake.
The Theme of Perspective
McEwan writes a chapter in the perspective of a specific character. The most prevalent example of perspective influencing someone’s version of reality, is Briony’s inaccurate portrayal of Robbie. Her imagination fabricated false backstories and due to her bias, it drove her to read the letter Robbie wrote to Cecilia indicating he was perverted and depraved. Many people have theorized it was because of Briony’s self-centred feelings that led to her unreliable conclusion that Robbie had raped Lola. It was ultimately because of resentment towards Robbie and Cecilia’s romantic relationship that caused her to perceive Robbie negatively. The situation it took to falsify a reality where Robbie is guilty for a crime he didn’t commit, was not based on facts. At the end of the day, I understand she was trying to look out for the safety of her sister, but the underlying truth was that Briony was jealous that her sister had something she didn’t.
The Theme of Guilt
It is easy for us to look at ourselves as the villain when remembering a bad memory. Although Briony was indeed a selfish child, she still did not know any better. The lines between right and wrong were blurred because as damaging as it was to Robbie and Cecilia, she witnessed things no girl of her age should have witnessed, she didn’t understand. All due to the carelessness of the two adults she looked up to and admired most. I am by no means taking Briony’s side, as I wanted Robbie and Cecilia to get their happy ending— but I can acknowledge that everyone had done some sort of wrong in the situation.
After Briony comes to terms with the damage she has done, she spends the rest of her life burdened by what she’s caused and the after effects of it. She spends her time as a nurse instead of going to college. Perhaps burdened by her guilt and attempting to atone for her misdeeds … she worries endlessly about whether Robbie will be harmed in the line of duty, understanding that any injuries he suffers will be in some way her fault. I would never forgive Briony for forcing the two lovers apart, taking away their chances at what could’ve been. The book concludes that Briony has written an entire novel dedicated to their story with again, a fabricated reality as a way to atone for her lies.
The Theme of Social Class
Briony’s flawed and incomplete perspective was combined with authority figures such as the police and Mrs. Tallis and the hasty conclusions were solidified in that way. The author, McEwan makes it clear that none of the characters have the capabilities to view each other’s motives or drive in a balanced and/or objective way. Robbie has always been incorporated and associated with the Tallis family, he was educated and good-mannered, but despite that, he was still an outsider because of his status as he also heavily relied on the Tallis family for their charity. His status also largely contributes to the isolation and betrayal he felt after getting accused of raping Lola.
McEwan emphasized how social status had nothing to do with intellect or morals. Paul Marshall, the man who was actually Lola’s rapist, was able to escape suspicion and even married Lola as a way to never acknowledge his wrongdoing. Due to Robbie being in the lower-class, he didn’t have the resources to choose what fate he received. Higher status characters had all the privilege, but had none of Robbie’s kindness. Unfortunately, Robbie [wa]s left at the mercy of a biased system.
In Conclusion
McEwan highlighted the role of how different narratives can alter our understanding of what is real and what isn’t. The novel, as well as the movie, hold such a special place in my heart because of how many people’s lives in real life get ruined by these sorts of accusations. I am not just talking about rape, but wrongful accusations for many things too. You can feel the pain of a situation even if you haven’t directly experienced it. Briony’s lies played a major role in suspense as well as tension because she knew the truth, yet she was misleading others into believing another version of what she thought happened. Atonement means to reconcile for those you’ve done wrong to, but Briony was too late. Forgiveness means to let go of negative emotions and memories, and cling to the positive things that remained. However, if there is nothing positive left— maybe you never deserved to be forgiven in the first place. And that is exactly what I feel about Briony. She owed the world Cecilia and Robbie’s truth, but she told it when no one else that mattered was left to listen.