Atonement by Ian McEwan
"Atonement" by Ian McEwan is a novel that explores themes of love, guilt, and the quest for redemption through the story of Briony Tallis, a thirteen-year-old girl whose actions lead to devastating consequences for those around her. Set in England before and during World War II, the narrative begins with Briony’s misguided perceptions as she witnesses a series of events between her older sister Cecilia and Robbie Turner, a family friend. After misinterpreting a scene and later witnessing a sexual encounter, Briony falsely accuses Robbie of a crime, leading to his wrongful conviction and imprisonment.
The story unfolds across different timelines, showcasing Robbie's experiences as a soldier during the war and Briony’s transformation into a nurse, where she grapples with the impact of her childhood actions. As Briony matures, she begins to realize the gravity of her earlier choices and seeks to make amends through writing. The novel culminates in her later years, where she reflects on her life and the fictional narrative she has crafted to provide a sense of closure for Robbie and Cecilia, whom she can no longer bring together in reality. "Atonement" ultimately examines the complexities of memory, responsibility, and the power of storytelling as a means of reconciliation.
Atonement by Ian McEwan
First published: 2001
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Psychological realism
Time of plot: 1935, 1940, 1999
Locale: English countryside and London; French countryside and Dunkirk, France; Ireland
Principal Characters
Briony Tallis , a thirteen-year-old girl, later a nurse and novelistCecilia Tallis , her older sisterLeon Tallis , her older brotherEmily Tallis , her motherJack Tallis , her fatherLola Quincy , ,Jackson Quincy andPierrot Quincy , visiting cousins of the TallisesRobbie Turner , the son of the Tallis family’s cleaning lady, educated at Cambridge by the TallisesPaul Marshall , a wealthy friend of Leon from London
The Story
Briony Tallis, age thirteen, wants her Quincy cousins to perform in a play she has written to celebrate her brother Leon’s visit from London with his friend, Paul Marshall. Cecilia Tallis and Robbie Turner, formerly childhood friends, are both back from Cambridge, where they have become distant. When he tries to help her fill a valuable vase with water at a fountain, it breaks; in frustration, Cecilia strips to her underwear in front of him and dives in to recover the pieces. Briony observes this scene from the house and is troubled by what she sees. Meanwhile, her cousin Lola, age fifteen, undermines Briony’s plans for the play, and rehearsals are abandoned. Briony walks out to the grounds in frustration.
Leon and Paul arrive from London and, meeting Robbie on the way in, invite him to dinner that night. At his mother’s cottage, Robbie writes to Cecilia to apologize about the vase and explain his feelings for her. In one hastily written draft, he describes his desire in explicitly sexual terms; he abandons that version and writes a more appropriate one. On his way across the grounds, he encounters Briony and asks her to take his letter to Cecilia. Only as she reaches the house does he realize he put the sexually explicit letter in the envelope. By the time Cecilia meets him at the door with the letter in her hand, Briony has already read it.
Briony shares the information in the letter as well as the scene by the fountain with Lola; they decide Robbie is dangerous and Cecilia needs protection. Cecilia confronts Robbie in the library, and after they confess their affection for each other, they make love. Briony finds them and believes Robbie is attacking her sister. They all go down to dinner without speaking.
The meal is interrupted by the news that Jackson and Pierrot have run away; everyone disperses to look for them. In the darkness, Briony comes across a man and Lola having sex in the grass. The man sneaks off, and Briony believes it was Robbie; Lola does not contradict her. By the time Robbie returns to the house in the early dawn, bringing the two boys with him, the police are waiting to arrest him. He is convicted of rape and sent to prison; only Cecilia and his mother believe he is innocent.
Five years later, Robbie is in the British army in France, retreating after the fall of the Maginot line. He hides a wound in his side from his two comrades as they make their way to Dunkirk for evacuation. On the way, they dodge attacks by German bombers and attempt to help refugees. For comfort, Robbie thinks about Cecilia and their single meeting between his release from prison and basic training; Cecilia has cut herself off from her family and become a nurse in London, where they met for tea. They made plans to visit a cottage together, but war was declared and Robbie was shipped to France. In the chaos of Dunkirk, he and his comrades wait for the boats to evacuate them to England. His wound grows worse, and he becomes delirious.
Briony, now eighteen, has also entered nursing studies. She has begun to understand that she was mistaken about Robbie and Cecilia, and her doubts are confirmed when she learns that Paul Marshall and Lola Quincy are getting married. Her studies are accelerated when the evacuees begin arriving from France, and she experiences the horrors of nursing wounded soldiers.
On her day off, Briony walks across London to witness Lola and Paul’s wedding. In their refusal to acknowledge her, she sees confirmation of her suspicions that Paul was guilty, not Robbie. She continues on to her sister’s flat and explains that she wants to recant her earlier testimony. Robbie is visiting Cecilia as well. They are pleased that she will tell the truth about Lola and Paul but show no signs of forgiveness. Briony returns to the hospital determined to write a story that will atone for what she did.
Half a century later, Briony has just finished the novel which forms the earlier portions of Atonement. She knows that it cannot be published until after Paul and Lola are dead because they would sue her if it were. She has also just learned that she is losing her memory to vascular dementia. She returns to the Tallis country home, now a hotel, for a family reunion in honor of her birthday. After the party, she stays up late writing and thinking about her attempts to atone for her crime by writing Cecilia and Robbie’s story; she admits that she has changed their ending to bring them together, when in fact they both died without seeing one another, or her, ever again.
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