Atonement: Full Book Analysis

Atonement is the story of how a young girl’s desire to be an adult, in addition to a vivid imagination, leads her to make a partially innocent mistake that has devastating consequences. The novel explores the distinction between childhood and adulthood, the nature of perspective, the pull of regret, and, perhaps most explicitly, the power of storytelling. This theme is clear from the structure of the novel as a work of metafiction, referring to the fictional nature of the narrative. Most of the novel is told from a third-person point of view, with Part One switching between the perspectives of various members of the Tallis, Quincey, and Turner families, Part Two told entirely from Robbie’s perspective, and Part Three told entirely from Briony’s perspective. Only in the epilogue is it revealed that the book, up to that point, has been Briony’s final novel, her attempt to atone for the consequences of her childish mistake. To read the story of Cecilia and Robbie and become invested in their fates, only to learn that they never had a happy ending, drives home how powerful stories can be.

At thirteen years old, Briony is on the cusp between childhood and adolescence and feels that she is ready for adulthood. This feeling intensifies during the inciting incident in the novel, when she sees Cecilia and Robbie by the fountain. Watching their interaction causes Briony to realize there are situations she cannot fully understand. This realization frustrates Briony, but she understands that this can be useful to inspire her writing. Though she sees Robbie as a threat, she views him and her sister more as characters in a story than actual people. Briony’s reaction shows how the nature of perspective can influence the way one sees reality, a theme that is integral to the plot. Her reaction also shows Briony’s naivete despite her desire to be an adult as well as how she sees the world through the lens of a story. Not only does this incident incite Briony to begin thinking in a new way, but the moment also alters the relationship between Cecilia and Robbie. Though they have known each other since childhood, Robbie realizes he is in love with Cecilia and writes her a letter that will change their fates forever.

The rising action occurs when Robbie gives Briony the wrong version of his letter, literally putting Briony between him and Cecilia. The note only confirms for Briony what she had suspected after seeing him with her sister by the fountain, that Robbie poses a danger to Cecilia. Upon telling Lola what the note said, Lola confirms that Robbie must be a maniac. Though Lola attempts to behave and dress like an adult, her reaction, like Briony’s, shows that she is still innocent in adult matters. In this way, the novel uses understanding of sexuality as what separates children from adults. The action continues to rise when Cecilia and Robbie admit their feelings for each other and make love in the library, only to be walked in on by Briony. While Briony believes she has just saved her sister from an assault, Cecilia and Robbie are frustrated by her interruption. Again, this scene shows how a person’s individual perspective and assumptions can shape what they perceive to be objective reality. Due to these assumptions, no one is aware of the real threat that is foreshadowed. Lola blames her scratches and bruises on the twins. Even Emily wonders how young boys could be capable of such strength, while Paul blames his own scratch on breaking up the fight. Due to Paul’s wealth and background, no one suspects that he could be the true danger.

The climax occurs when Briony finds Lola on the ground after being assaulted and names Robbie as her rapist. Though Briony did not see the man, in her mind, all of Robbie’s actions point to him being the culprit. This climax occurs relatively early in the novel. However, it is truly the point at which Briony cannot reverse the course of her actions, which she will spend her life trying to make up for. By naming Robbie, she has set in motion the events that will determine the fates of both Robbie and Cecilia. After being released from prison early in exchange for joining the armed forces, Robbie dies before being evacuated from Dunkirk. In jumping straight from the morning Robbie is arrested to his journey to Dunkirk, the novel shows how Briony’s crime is directly related to Robbie’s death. Meanwhile, Cecilia cuts herself off from her family, works as a nurse in London, and dies in a bomb raid. Had Briony not accused Robbie of a crime he did not commit, Cecilia likely would have stayed with her family.

However, Cecilia’s and Robbie’s true fates are not revealed within Briony’s story. Instead, she first recounts Robbie’s journey to Dunkirk, as told to her by Corporal Nettle. In describing the people Robbie helped on his way, despite his desperation to simply get home to Cecilia, Briony reminds readers of Robbie’s kind and generous nature. She then describes her own experience training as a nurse at the beginning of the war and the horrors she witnesses in the hospital. Instead of attending Cambridge as she had planned, Briony becomes a nurse out of a sort of penance, hoping that if she helps enough people, she may make up for what she did to Robbie. Seeing Robbie in every soldier, the weight of Briony’s guilt is evident. The action rises again when Briony learns from her father that Lola is to marry Paul. Briony’s guilt and regret are only compounded as she realizes her false testimony not only sent a man to prison but also allowed the true rapist to walk free and to marry his victim. This event incites Briony to visit Cecilia, where she is relieved to realize Robbie is alive and plans to set right what she did wrong.

The epilogue reveals that this last meeting between Briony and Cecilia never happened but instead was Briony’s final attempt to make up for her mistake. Though Briony went on to have a successful career and marriage, she has been carrying the guilt over her childhood mistake for her entire life. Meanwhile, Paul and Lola have gone on to be fabulously wealthy and respected philanthropists. Paul’s arc shows that, unlike a story where the heroes succeed and the villain is punished, real life often differs from stories in that malevolent people can come out on top in the end. Still, just as when she was a child, Briony believes in the power of stories, so much that she hopes her final one will serve as an atonement for her crime.

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