Atonement Reading Log - Chapter 11-14

Chapter 11 - Summary

Everyone is crowded in the dining room. The windows are shut and the adults have to drink wine instead of water and none of the guests want a roast. The conversation is awkward (especially between Robbie and Cecilia after their scene in the library). In an attempt to break the silence, Paul Marshall begins a discussion about tennis. Robbie notices a long scratch on his face. Everyone begins to talk about the heat. Robbie daydreams about Cecilia, imagining being with her again. The story flashbacks to just after Robbie realised he handed over the wrong letter. He follows Briony into the house to apologise to Cecilia. Cecilia tells him that she knows about Briony reading the letter. Cecilia leads him into the library into a dark corner. They have a very romantic scene against the bookshelves as they profess their love for each other and make love. Then Briony comes in. McEwan uses prolepsis where dessert has been served and the twins are whispering to each other.  The twins then ask to be excused from the table. Briony then realises that they are wearing her socks and she gets angry. Cecilia snaps at her and Briony feels betrayed (because she has this idea of trying to protect her from Robbie). Marshall says he saw the twins attack Lola – he apparently broke the fight up. Emily examines Lola more closely and realises that her arms are covered in burns, bruises and cuts. When Emily asks Lola how the twins managed to do so much damage she does not seem to know. Marshall and Emily comfort her.

Robbie begins to wonder why Marshall did not mention the fight earlier considering he broke them away from Lola. Briony then finds a letter from the twins explaining that they have decided to run away back to their home. Lola panics and tries to find them. Everyone organises search parties.

Character Description

Robbie

In this chapter, Robbie daydreams about Cecilia back to when they realised how in love they were. McEwan uses a deeply descriptive narration to describe their love between each other. He seems very distracted by his love for her.

He also sees Paul Marshall as suspicious – suggesting that he is the hero of the novel (even though he is treated as a villain)

Character's Relationship with others

Briony starts to discover that Robbie hates her and decides to be rude and snappy with him after witnessing his ‘assaulting’ her sister in the library. Her mother does not approve of rudeness at the table.

Obviously, Robbie’s relationship with Cecilia is growing stronger. They both express their love for each other in this chapter and finally realise that they want to be together.

Setting Description

‘The effect of suffocation was heightened by the dark-stained panelling reaching from the floor and covering the ceiling, and by the room’s only painting, a vast canvas that hung above a fireplace unlit since its construction – a fault in the architectural drawings had left no provision for a flue or chimney’

‘two teenage girls.. solidity to the household’

‘Voices reached him.. switch of a desk lamp’ p132

Imagery and Symbolism

The twins leaving a letter at the table reminds the reader of the letter Robbie wrote to Cecilia. Cleverly, McEwan has continuously used references to a letter to reiterate the bad fate ahead of Robbie.

Chapter 12 - Summary

Emily considers calling the police but she does not feel comfortable talking to the constable or his wife. She remembers how she disliked her sister Hermione, and thinks that Lola is just like her (which is quite harsh on her). Emily reveals that she knows her husband, Jack is having an affair. It bothers her but she is thankful that he pretended he wasn’t. She then thinks about Paul Marshall as a possible husband for Cecilia because of his wealth. Jack Tallis calls, and they talk for a bit before Emily tells him about the twins disappearing. Leon comes in with Cecilia, Lola and Briony who are all very upset. Leon talks on the phone to his father asking him to come home as soon as possible. He then asks Emily into the drawing room to tell her some (expectedly) bad news.

Character Description

Emily normally seems to have a migraine at the most important times of the novel. However, in chapter 12 she seems to be taking on a better role of a mother. She thinks about calling the police but she does not because she does not want to talk to the constable (which is very selfish of her). She seems as if she cared about the twins but she does not seem to do much about it. She also describes her dislike towards Lola because she is similar to Hermione (which could be foreshadowing he assault in the future because Emily takes on a huge role of looking after Lola).

Character's Relationship with others

It is clear in this Chapter that Emily has a bad relationship with her sister Hermione. She describes her as attention seeking, someone who always wants to be in the centre of everything – Just like Briony really.

Setting Description

‘Old Adam-style building had been, however beautifully it once commanded the parkland, the walls could not have been as sturdy as those of the baronial structure that replaced it, and its rooms could never had possessed the same quality of the stubborn silence that occasionally smothered the Tallis home.’

‘She closed the front door on the search parties and turned to cross the hallway’

Historical References

The lady (Emily) stayed at home to look after the house, while the children and the men look for the missing children.

Imagery and Symbolism

Chapter 13 - Summary

Just after dinner, Briony looks around the swimming pool for the twins. Briony decides that Robbie hates her and likes the idea of it. She enjoys the idea of growing into an adult and she thinks about being the hero and protecting Cecilia. She arrives at the pool and nobody is there. She thinks about being a writer and about how she is becoming an adult. She hears a shout and sees a flash of light from the corner of her eye. Briony stops to listen and look around her before walking towards the woods where she thinks the sound came from. When she arrives at the woods, she does not find anything. Briony catches a glimpse of her mother through the window as she walks towards the house. She thinks about what life will be like when her mother dies. Briony thinks about sitting with her mother but decides to stay outside (which sets the scene for the crime). Briony runs away and reaches the driveway. She then thinks about Robbie the ‘maniac’. As Briony arrives at the temple, she realises that the two bushes in the dark are actually people. One walks away and another stands up from the ground. Briony realises that it is Lola who stands up. She calls Briony out of fear. Briony watches the figure make its way towards the house. Already, she knows exactly who it is. 

Character Description

McEwan describes Briony as incredibly selfish in this chapter. Even though she is looking for the twins, all she can think about is herself and her excitement of becoming an adult. She even thinks about what her life would be like if her mother died (which does not seem to upset her).

Character's Relationship with others

Briony begins to realise that her relationship with Robbie is not too friendly. She knows that he hates her (because she walked in on him and her sister) and she rather enjoys the idea of being hated by an adult. It makes her feel like she is growing up and finally experiencing real, true emotions and feelings.

Setting Description

‘Staring at the water’

‘She decided to turn back. In order to pick up her path she was walking directly towards the house, towards the terrace where the paraffin globe lamp shone among glasses, bottles, and an ice bucket. The drawing-room French windows stood wide open to the night. She could see right into the room. And by the light of a single lamp, she could see, partially obscured by the hang of a velvet curtain, one end of a sofa across which there lay at a peculiar angle a cylindrical object that seemed to hover.’ It is unclear what McEwan is describing until further down on the page. This creates confusion, suspense and tension.

‘Even a man standing in front of a tree trunk would not be visible to her’

‘The bush’

‘Vertical column rose five or six feet’

‘So completely bound to the notion that this was a bush’

‘Darkness’

‘She hesitated’

‘Very still’

Imagery and Symbolism

‘Within half an hour Briony would commit her crime’. McEwan is setting the scene. From this sentence we know what is going to happen in the novel (even though the reader does not know what the events will be, they know that somehow Robbie is going to get in trouble).

McEwan has used a lot of gothic horror techniques to describe the rape scene and the build up to it. There is a lot of darkness, and still water which creates a sense of suspense and tension.

Atonement Reading Log Chapter 8-10

Chapter Eight

The chapter begins with Robbie sat in his bath thinking about Cecilia coming out of the pond in her underwear. He thinks about how his feelings for Cecilia have progressed over the years. He also thinks about how angry Cecilia is at him and about her intentions to humiliate him. He hopes that she was trying to flirt with him and also knows he should have refused to come for dinner (even though he wants to see her). Looking around his room at his drawings and books, Robbie sees a picture of his parents – his mum, Grace and his dad, Ernest who left when Robbie was young. Whilst reading the book on Versailles Landscapes Cecilia gave him, he thinks about how he took off his shoes and socks off. He can’t help but sniff the book because she once touched it.

Then he writes a letter to Cecilia to apologise for his behaviour at the fountain. His thoughts overpower him, and he adds in his sexual thoughts by ‘accident’. Instead he writes out another draft in longhand (leaving the sexual parts out). Robbie grew up with Cecilia and Leon – he is quite close to them. Jack Tallis took Robbie’s mother in as a maid. Robbie is excited to see Cecilia and also excited about his future. He bumps into Briony at the bridge and decides to give her the letter to pass on to Cecilia. But, he accidentally gives her the wrong letter! He tries to call her back but it is too late.

Character Descriptions

Robbie

-         His low social rank does not seem to affect him.

-         He seems to be in control of his life.

-         Robbie is confused about the encounter at the fountain, but he does think that it was Cecilia possibly trying to flirt, or express her anger.

-         While writing the letter to Cecilia, he feels like he has control over her and her body – which is not the case in real life. This can be compared back to Briony having control over her stories and her production (even though in real life she does not have full control because the ‘actors’ do not do as they are told).

Character’s relationships with others

-         Robbie sees Jack Tallis as father figure. He is completely depended upon the Tallis’ to help him become a doctor (without them he does not have the funding).

Setting description

-         Chapter eight begins in Robbie’s bathtub in a bungalow on the Tallis estate. He then moves from his bathtub to his bed and then to his office to write the letter for Cecilia.

-         There is a huge description of Robbie’s office.

-         ‘the study was squashed under the apex of the bungalow’s roof’

-         ‘piled In the corner, his hiking gear, boots, alpenstock, leather knapsack’

Cultural and Historical References

The whole first section of the novel is set at the house in 1935 before WWII. The setting is idyllic and also fragile (like the broken vase). The war is coming, like the ‘black furred creature’ of Emily Tallis’s migraine.

Imagery and symbolism

There is a lot of foreshadowing representing Robbie's lack of future in the novel. McEwan has set up Robbie as the hero and Briony as the villain. McEwan makes the reader feel empathy towards Robbie because he discusses his hopes and aspirations in this chapter – ‘he should study medicine’. However, the reader knows that Robbie will not achieve the aspirations he set out to.

Chapter Nine

Cecilia finds it difficult to choose a dress before going down to see her brother. She tries a black dress but it reminds her of a funeral. Instead she puts on a frilly dress but thinks it looks like Shirley Temple.

Finally she tries on her favourite dress (backless green). She does not realise that she is dressing up to impress Robbie. So she opens to door and finds Jackson about to knock. The children have been ordered down for dinner but they only have one pair of socks between them. Lola is not speaking to the twins so asks Cecilia for help. Cecilia goes to their room to sort out the situation with the socks, and finds the room in a huge mess so she cleans it up. The twins tell her that they want to go home and that Briony has abandoned the play and gone missing. Cecilia explains to the twins that they cannot go home, she then retrieves some socks from Briony’s room and sends them to dinner. She realises that she cares less about her appearance due to her helping the twins. Emily and Jack are both absent so Cecilia resigns herself to having to be the hostess for the evening. Cecilia finds Emily in the kitchen demanding Betty to prepare a salad instead of a roast for dinner (even though Betty has been working on it all day). Instead, Cecilia convinces Emily that Leon wants a roast, to Betty’s relief. Finally, Cecilia gets out to Leon. With a drink and a cigarette in hand, they have a chat. Cecilia tries to match his tone and outlook, but sounds bitter and mean-spirited and Leon tells her to come to London with him. Briony is waiting on the terrace, she gives Cecilia the letter. She reads the letter, and suddenly realises that she is in love with Robbie. Briony does not answer when Cecilia repeatedly asks whether she read the letter! Paul Marshall shows up and tried to convince Cecilia to try some of his chocolate mixed drink.

Character Descriptions

Cecilia

-         McEwan presents her as almost the opposite to Briony's character. She is unorganized, messy and she feels useless to her family. 'Wine stains' and a 'burn hole' shows that she does not seem to take care of her clothes (seeing as they are covered in blemishes and flaws). Alternatively, it could represent her flawed and blemished personality. 

Character’s relationships with others

Cecilia

-         Cecilia thinks Leon is ambitious-less and kind. He always sees the best in everyone and avoids confrontation.

-         Cecilia suddenly realises that she is in love with Robbie after reading the letter from him (even though in reality she has known all along). She clearly cares a lot about him as she tries very hard to impress him with her outfit.

Setting description

'Gilt-frame mirror'. Cecilia tries on many different dresses in this chapter showing her wealth and desire to please Robbie. a lot of this chapter focuses around the 'mirror' - 'the same mirror must have seen her descend the stairs', 'full length mirror'.

The twins room - 'their room was a pitiful mess of clothes, wet towels, orange peel, torn-up pieces of a comic arranged around a sheet of paper, upended chairs partly covered by blankets and the mattresses at a slew'.

'Between the beds was a broad damp stain on the carpet in the centre of which lay a bar of soap and damp wads of lavatory paper'

'One of the curtains hung at a tilt below the pelmet, and through the windows were open, the air was dank, as though exhaled many times.

Cultural and Historical References

Clothes in the 1930's were feminine, tight fitted and they all consisted of neutral colours (instead of today's fashion which is much more colourful)

Imagery and symbolism

The black dress that reminds Cecilia of a funeral could foreshadow her death in the future. Or alternatively, it could represent the end of Robbie and Cecilia's relationship. 
Also, the frilly frock could represent her naivety in the novel (from Briony).

Chapter Ten

Briony has read the letter and is thrilled by the idea of adult emotions. She thinks it will help her writing. She writes a really long paragraph devoted to the word ‘cunt’. Briony has shifted her feelings towards Robbie, she is worried that he threatens the order of the house and wants to save her sister from him (very melodramatic). Lola arrives and interrupts her writing. Lola says that the twins have been torturing her, she also has a scratch on her shoulder and burns on her wrists. Briony moves to sit next to her cousins and comfort her, Lola tears up. Briony closes the door to give them some privacy, she is amazed that two nine-year old children could bring Lola down. Lola tells Briony that she was getting ready for a bath when the twins tackled her to the floor because they think Lola is to blame for not being able to go home. Suddenly, Briony tells her about the letter, Lola is appalled and calls Robbie a ‘maniac’. Lola suggests going to the police and showing them the letter and warns Briony that ‘maniacs can attack anyone!’

Mrs Tallis calls them to dinner. On her way down, Briony thinks about how she wishes her father were home. She hears the twins arguing and then opens the library door. When she does, she sees Robbie and Cecilia crammed into a corner of the library and thinks Robbie is attacking her sister. They break apart, when they do, Briony is surprised to realize that Cecilia does not seem grateful. The three of them leave the library.

Character Descriptions

Briony

-         Briony is losing her innocence from the moment the novel begins. Briony misinterprets the motives and intentions of adult behaviour. This causes her to trigger a series of events that will have a long lasting and incredibly damaging results for everyone around her. 

Character’s relationships with others

Briony

-         Chapter ten begins with her innocence being taken away from her forever. Briony is still coming across parts of the adult world that she does not fully understand. Reading the letter leads her to imagine that her sister is being ‘threatened’ when in reality, she has got it completely wrong. She thinks her perception of the world is the only ‘right’ perception. She does not consider other people’s ideas.

-         Briony seems to feel that her and Robbie share passion for articulation. However, Robbie is in tune with the chaos of desire, Briony seeks to ‘restore order’ to it. This is however, a tragic flaw in her writing and life.

-         Briony sharing her information with Lola shows her ‘story-telling’ side. She finds sharing this secret easy but she spends the rest of her life struggling to share the secret of the crime she committed.

Setting description

‘By the fountain, its air of ugly threat, and at the end, when both had gone their separate ways, the luminous absence shimmering above the wetness on the gravel’ p115 her room

‘Farm animals lined along the window-sill and the strait-laced dolls poised in various rooms of their open-sided mansion’

‘Robbie appearing in the semi-darkness’

P117 ‘Rapid tick of the high heels on the tiled floors of the hallway’

P121 ‘panelled corridor’

P122-23 ‘immobile’ ‘dark shapes ‘figures onto the packed spines of books’

Cultural and Historical References

Robbie as a ‘maniac’ by ‘threatening’ Cecilia could represent his future as a solider in the war. Swearing in the 1930 polite society was very uncommon. Many people saw it as very offensive and rude. Robbie using such an extravagant word really signifies his strong feelings towards Cecilia. Cecilia is not offended because she feels the same.

Imagery and symbolism

In chapter ten, Lola is presented as a fragile character. She seems like a victim, which could be foreshadowing her attack further on in the novel. 

Briony and Lola discussing the letter and Robbie being a ‘maniac’ foreshadows what Briony is going to do about Robbie ‘threatening’ Cecilia.

Atonement Reading Log Chapter 4-7

Chapter Four Summary

Cecilia finally finishes putting the vase back together. Briony enters the room and Cecilia knows she is upset because she is pinching her lower lip because she is upset about the play. Cecilia is portrayed as a mother like figure towards Briony and so wants to comfort her by talking about her younger years. Briony used to have nightmares and Cecilia tended to her in the night. Cecilia then fills the vase with flowers and brings them to the room that Paul Marshall is staying in. she looks out the window to see Hardman, Leon and Paul approaching the house. She is irritated about the idea of Robbie welcoming them. Returning to her own room, she looks for her cigarettes and begins to smoke. Paul and Leon arrive whilst Danny Hardman carries their bags behind them. Leon and Cecilia hug. She admires the smell of his coat and the feel of a pen in his pocket. On the other hand, Paul Marshall is dull when he speaks and Cecilia mentally expresses her hate for men like him. Cecilia directs the guests to their rooms. She asked Danny if he likes Lola because he has been hanging around her a lot recently. Paul is placed into Auntie Venus’s old room. Unusually, Paul seems like a mysterious, self-involved character. Cecilia and Leon make fun of him in a childish manner. Cecilia begins to imagine how awful life would be like if she married him. Leon announces that he invited Robbie to the dinner which annoys Cecilia (a lot) he then makes fun of Cecilia about falling for a boy who is in a different social class to the family. In spite, Cecilia attempts to convince Leon to disinvite Robbie to dinner (because of the argument).

Character Descriptions

Cecilia

-         As well as Briony, she is upset about her lack of control over others. She is upset that Briony has feelings of her own – feelings too complicated for Cecilia to comfort her. As a women, she cannot escape the role of her looking after the children due to their absent mother. Chapter Four highlights how self-absorbed Cecilia is (as well as Paul Marshall). Neither of them seem to have any empathy for one another.

-         Cecilia is upset because Leon has ruined her ideal image of the dinner.

Character’s relationships with others

Cecilia

-         Cecilia is quite different to her younger sister. We learn that is unorganised in the way she lives.

-         Cecilia seems to have a dear maternal affection towards her younger sister.

-         When Briony had a nightmare, Cecilia would run to her room and look after her (instead of her mother). She often used the words ‘come back’ which carries a symbolic meaning throughout the novel.

-         Cecilia feels impatient and desperate for something exciting to happen to her. She also feels useless as a member of the Tallis family and wishes to feel needed. 

Setting description

‘South-facing window in the library’

‘Bare feet on the hallway’

P46 ‘Gleaming surfaces of the furniture seemed to ripple and breathe’

‘Grassy bank.. lakeshore trees that surrounded the Island Temple’

‘Cecilia led the visitors into the drawing room, through the French windows, past the roses towards the swimming pool, which was behind the stable block and was surrounded on four sides by a high thicket of bamboo, with a tunnel-like gap for an entrance. They walked through, bending their heads under low canes, and emerged onto a terrace of dazzling white stone from which the heat rose in a blast. In a deep shadow , set well back from the water’s edge, was a white-painted tin table with a pitcher of iced punch under a square of cheesecloth.’

    Cultural and Historical References

The upper class in 1935 were often very rich. The houses had many rooms with expensive furniture (which is why the Tallis' have many spare rooms). In 1935 people did not know the risks of smoking so they continued to do it in social situations.

Imagery and symbolism

The vase broken at the fountain is symbol of Robbie and Cecilia's love. They break the vase on the day they begin to come together but just like the vase, their love is broken apart before it even starts. The vase was originally given to Cecilia's Uncle Clem during World War I by a French town he had helped evacuate. It is not just valuable, but 'respected' for the lives Uncle Clem saved. McEwan replays the story a few times. First, we see it through Cecilia's point of view, then from Briony through her window. Later on in the novel, we see the story through Robbie's memory. Finally, we see how the vase gets 'broken' in 1940. As Betty carries it downstairs it comes apart in her hands. We know that it had already been broken and fixed by Cecilia. It was waiting to fall apart sometime just like Robbie and Cecilia's love story does when Briony reveals that they both died in the war.

                                                                                           

Chapter Five Summary

The chapter is from Paul Marshall's point of view, but it starts with Lola, Pierrot and Jackson wondering why Briony left in the middle of rehearsal. The twins start complaining about the Tallis’s home and how they want to go home. They also talk about their parent’s divorce. Lola gets annoyed for mentioning the word ‘divorce’ and she threatens them that she will tell on them. Paul Marshall enters and mentions that he has seen their parents in the paper. This proves that a divorce would have been extremely dramatic at the time. Paul experience with drinks, Leon and Cecilia made him a little drowsy so he lay on his bed and closed his eyes. He had a dream about his four younger sisters (in a sexual way). When he woke up, he was aroused at the sound of the twins and Lola alone talking in the nursey. Paul sees the twins as ‘just children’ and Lola as a beautiful young, women. He compliments her on her trousers and shoes that she bought when she visited London to see a play with her mother. Due to Paul’s dream, his character takes on a creepy, perverted tone. He offers chocolate to Lola and the twins. The twins criticize giving soldiers chocolate which annoys Paul Marshall. Instead he only gives Lola the symbol of the chocolate. It symbolises a prize and it also has a lot of sexual imagery. The reader sees Paul in a perverted light because he watches and admires her closely as she eats the chocolate, telling her she has to ‘bite it. Betty, the cook, calls Jackson and Pierrot to get ready for bed.

Character Descriptions

Lola

-         Lola is presented entirely different to Briony – almost like a young women who must fill the role of Hermione (her absent mother). Lola also demands that her brothers do not mention the word ‘divorce’ possibly due to its social impact.

-         Paul mentioning the parents appearing in the paper suggests that Lola may even be more mature than Paul (despite their age gap) because she knows how to behave in front of the young twins.

Character’s relationships with others

-         McEwan presents Paul as a mysterious sinister character. The way he interacts with Lola seems inappropriate and uncomfortably sexual because of her age.

Setting description

Lola – ‘she went out into the corridor and along to the end where there was an open door to an unused bedroom. From here she had a view of the driveway and the lake across which lay a column of shimmering phosphorescence, white hot from the fierce late afternoon heat.’

Lola was in ‘her tiny bedroom, arranging her hair in front of a hand mirror propped against the window-sill’

‘A little later the three found themselves back in the nursery which, apart from the bedrooms, was the only room they felt they had a right to be in. The scuffed blue brick was where they had left it, and everything was as before’

Cultural and Historical References

Divorce in 1935 was considered unacceptable and out of societies norm. The fact that it was displayed in the newspaper shows the great significance in 1935 society. 

Imagery and symbolism


Paul Marshall is not very considerate to the children about the divorce and jokes with the children about it. McEwan presents him as a sinister character (seeing as his likes talking to the children and dreaming about his sisters). His unusual behaviour foreshadows Lola's rape further on in the novel. The chocolate has sexual connotations of desire and lust. 

Chapter Six Summary

Chapter six bases around Emily Tallis and her bedroom. She feels a migraine beginning and retreats to her dark room to recover. McEwan uses a lot of animalistic imagery to describe her pain. She begins to think about her son, Leon and how he has no ambition, before starting an internal rant about Cecilia’s unmarried state. Emily then shifts her attention to her youngest child, Briony. She shows a lot more affection towards Briony as she expresses her desire to protect her from failure and her cousin Lola. Lola then reminds Emily of her sister Hermione (Lola’s mother). Lying quietly, Emily can hear throughout the house in a supernatural sense. She believes that she know everything that is surrounding her. Then she heard Cecilia arranging the flowers, the arrival of Leon and Marshall. Her migraine begins to fade as she contemplates whether to hostess the family and guests for dinner.

Character description

Emily

-         McEwan portrays Emily as a very selfish character. She not only is an absent mother but she only seems to love her children in hope for something back. She spends a lot of time in her room suffering from migraines, which makes the reader feel empathy for her, or alternatively irritation because she is not looking after her children or guests. As a character, Emily Tallis is portrayed as useless in times of need. When her youngest ten year old daughter runs out into the garden out of upset, Emily stays in her room. In chapter six, Emily discusses how she dislikes her Cecilia smoking yet she does not do anything to stop her. Cecilia is expected to take on a mother’s role and look after her sister instead of Emily and she does not seem to get any appreciation from Emily for it. We also learn in chapter six that Briony was an unexpected child. This could add to the idea of Emily isolating herself from her children – she is not maternal.

Character’s relationships with others

-         It is clear that Emily does not have a good relationship with her children due to her acting as an absent mother. She spends most of her time alone in her room which leaves the Tallis’ household servants and Cecilia to act as mother figures. Jack Tallis is also an absent father, taking a lot of time away from the house to ‘work’. We have not yet encountered Jack in the novel but we learn that he is having an affair in chapter six (which Emily knows and does nothing about).

-         Towards the end of the chapter, when Briony runs off in a tantrum, her mother lets her get on with it, whilst she continues to ‘suffer’ in self-pity in her lonely dark bedroom.

Setting description

Chapter six is based in Emily’s bedroom. We learn that the room is often dark to help with Emily’s migraines so McEwan uses a lot of gloomy descriptive language to describe the room.

McEwan also uses a lot of gothic imagery to describe the house itself, he is attempting to associate the house to Emily’s migraines. As Emily is described as having supernatural senses, the house could be responding to her feelings and migraines or perhaps, the other way round.

Cultural historical references

During 1935, there was an increase in the amount of 'women's legislation' passed by Parliament. It also saw Britain's first female MPs. Many organisations began to represent women's interests – The National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship (The NUWSS in 1919), women's trade unions and the Women's Institute.

Imagery and symbolism

There is a lot of animalistic imagery and symbolism in chapter six. McEwan uses a lot of animalistic imagery to describe the pain of the migraines. Her migraines would ‘moved as a caged panther might’. A ‘panther’ has extremely powerful and protective presence. They are believed to have a fierce and aggressive nature. In a tribal logic, a panther is an animal totem of sun and vibrancy. A totem is a natural object or animal which is believed to have a spiritual significance. These ideas could represent the violent, ‘knifing pains’ of the migraine or alternatively, Emily’s feelings isolation, which could be because of the spiritual idea of something watching over her and constructing a feeling of imprisonment in her own bedroom.

Chapter Seven

In the centre of the Tallis family’s lake, there is an island temple. From afar, the lake seems beautiful and well kept, but it is actually in disrepair. Briony looks at the temple as she hits the lakeside nettles in frustration. She gives some of the nettles the role of Lola and the twins and then she strikes them down with tree branch. She then pretends that some of the nettles are her past selves, and continues to strike them down.

Leon passes behind Briony, but she does not even look at him. She instead, continues to hit and destroy the nettles, which sting her legs. Pretending that she is a world champion at the great sport of nettle slashing she strikes the ditch of nettles imagining her power. She walks back towards the bridge to stay in the driveway.

     

Simpler Version –

Briony is outside by the island temple slashing nettles. She has decided that she is the greatest nettle slasher of all time and pretends that she in the Olympics. She also pretends that the nettles are Lola and the twins are the nettles and uses her violent side to smash them down. The story becomes very involved in Briony’s creative imagination. Briony hears Leon pass by but she does not greet him (which is out of character). She stops daydreaming and begins to feel disappointed by her own insignificance.

Character descriptions

Briony

-         Briony is disappointed with how the play is turning out. She takes her frustration out on the stinging nettles.

-         Self-mythologizing – Briony creates a personal narrative that places her at the centre of it all in hope to make herself the hero, regardless of how it affects others (foreshadowing upcoming events).

-         She is presented as having an extremely violent side (imagining injuring her cousins!?)

Character’s relationship with others

-         Briony is both an introvert and an extrovert. In chapter seven, McEwan explores her introvert side. Distancing herself from the rest of the family and guests to hit and destroy nettles gives the reader an impression of isolation.

-         In previous chapters, McEwan presented Briony as very fond and loving towards her older brother Leon. However, when he passes behind her in chapter seven she does not even react. This could be due to her embarrassment about the play not succeeding or because she feels hurt and upset and is desiring her own space to think.

Setting’s Description

The setting of chapter seven is by the Tallis house lake. Briony is slashing the nettles that surround the lakeside whilst she overlooks the island temple in the centre of the lake.

Cultural and historical references

They normally grow in places that are not taken care of Briony’s slashing and destroying of the nettles could represent the act of war – destroying and ruining lives. Nettles are weeds and get in the way.

Imagery and Symbolism

Her destruction of the nettles is a symbol for her juvenile approach to writing. She creates a world that she can dominate completely and then applies control to fulfil her desire of power.