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Robbie is emblematic of how one’s fate can in fact be determined by social class. As the son of the Tallises’ charlady, Robbie is of a decidedly lower class than the relatively wealthy Tallises. However, having grown up being treated as an equal by Cecilia and Leon and being on the receiving end of Jack Tallis’s generosity, Robbie is never made to feel as though he is less than. However, this changes when Briony notices the interactions between Cecilia and Robbie. To Briony, Robbie seems at first to fit the archetypal role of the pauper who wins over the maiden. When Briony cannot grasp the relationship between Cecilia and Robbie, she instead casts him in a different role, as a villain. Unfortunately for Robbie, the rest of the Tallises, save Cecilia, are all too willing to assume that Robbie would commit a heinous crime, in part due to his background. Despite Robbie’s intelligence, hard work, and inherent kindness, his inability to escape from the class he was born into leads to his downfall.

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