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When Lola first visits the Tallises’ house, she is fifteen years old and desperate to be seen as a grown-up. Though she dresses the part and patronizes Briony enough to make the younger girl self-conscious, Lola is not quite the adult she wants to be just yet. She seems to welcome Paul Marshall’s attention at first, though he assaults her twice. The first assault she blames on the twins, and the second she allows Briony to blame on Robbie. The story is never told from Lola’s point of view. However, her refusal to name Paul as her rapist and her eventual marriage to him suggest that Lola may be afraid of Paul and may even blame herself for the assault because she initially was flattered by him. Aware that Briony is the only other person who knows the truth, Lola cannot bring herself to look at her cousin when she marries Paul. Despite her trauma and any internal struggles she may have, Lola retains her supercilious attitude into her old age.

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