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.
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