Why is Briony jealous in atonement?

Briony is jealous of her sister Cecilia: she’s older, has boys interested in her, is about to start her life – whatever else is imagined or real.

Why did Lola lie in Atonement?

The first time Lola blames her brother, and the second time she sits silently while Briony blames Robbie. We never really learn why Lola lies to protect Paul, though we do know a few things about the situation: With both bitterness and pity Briony notes, “what luck that was for Lola… to marry her rapist” (3.260).

Does Briony atone for her crime?

Whilst it may be argued that in doing this, Briony certainly succeeds in punishing herself for her crime in Part 1, the essence of atonement – if defined as being centred around the making of amends – is wholly overlooked.

Did Briony know who raped Lola?

In the darkness, while everyone is searching for the twins, Briony discovers her cousin Lola being raped by an assailant she cannot clearly see. Lola is unable/unwilling to identify the attacker. Briony accuses Robbie and identifies him to the police as the rapist, claiming she has seen his face in the dark.

What is Briony’s crime?

Briony speculates on the possibility of his feeling guilt (‘perhaps he has spent a lifetime making amends’), but in every obvious way he is a criminal who gets away with it. His crime is a dreadful one: he rapes a minor, a young girl who is outside searching for her twin brothers who have run away.

What does Briony think happened by the fountain?

We see the fountain scene in three different perspectives, in the eyes of young Briony and through Robbie and Cecilia. Briony believed that Robbie had some kind of power over Cecilia; her interpretation came from her knowledge from the Victoria era that men were superior to women (McEwan 38).

Why did Briony become a nurse?

The novel moves into World War II. In the British army, a desperate Robbie joins the British retreat from France early in the war. Meanwhile, Briony and Cecilia both become nurses, despite their upper class roots, in efforts to cope with what has happened at the Tallis estate.

Does Cecilia forgive Briony?

After Robbie’s conviction, Cecilia made it very clear that she was never going to forgive Briony for what she did. Although, it might sound harsh, her older sister had a point: you can’t destroy people’s lives, write a couple of apology letters and expect everything to resume to normal.

Is Briony a victim in atonement?

Briony, though guilty of a crime, can also be seen as a victim. She is a victim of her biology and emerging sexuality, her parent’s inadequate parenting and her febrile imagination.

Why does Briony blame Robbie?

First things first, Atonement has a very unreliable narrator: Briony. On the surface, one could say that Briony was naive and her cousin Lola influenced her to believe that Robbie was indeed a sex maniac. However, part of her hatred towards Robbie also stemmed from rejection.

How is Briony a victim?

What does Briony think she sees through the window?

Through the window, she sees her aging mother, and imagines how dignified she will get to seem at her mother’s funeral. Briony is so eager to transform herself into the center of attention that she gleefully anticipates her own mother’s funeral, simply because the occasion will give her a dignified position.

What did Briony do to make up for her wrongs?

This jealous misconception leads her to wrongly implicate Robbie in the rape of her cousin, Lola Quincey, a crime for which Robbie serves three years in prison. Later in the book, Briony becomes a nurse and works to make up for the wrongs she has committed against Robbie.

Who is Briony Tallis in atonement?

She narrates the book’s conclusion as an elderly woman who has been diagnosed with encroaching terminal dementia. The Atonement quotes below are all either spoken by Briony Tallis or refer to Briony Tallis.

Who is the author of the atonement?

The Atonement quotes below are all either spoken by Briony Tallis or refer to Briony Tallis. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one: ).

Why did Briony take the part of Arabella?

[Briony] was not playing Arabella because she wrote the play, she was taking the part because no other possibility had crossed her mind, because that was how Leon was to see her, because she was Arabella. Unlock explanations and citation info for this and every other Atonement quote.