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
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
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.
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