Briony’s life is dominated by guilt, and she tries to make amends by
rewriting the past through fiction.
But her confession comes after Robbie and Cecilia are long dead, and
the act of storytelling is inherently self-serving.
As a child: her storytelling is naïve, dangerous.
As an adult: it becomes reflective, redemptive—but also
manipulative.
McEwan explores how stories can both reveal and obscure truth. Fiction
can offer comfort, but can also create false histories.
Robbie’s downfall isn’t just Briony’s doing — it’s the result of class
prejudice:
The Tallises accept Briony’s word over Robbie’s.
The police never really investigate — they simply assume his guilt.
Meanwhile, Paul Marshall walks free.
This contrast illustrates how justice is often reserved for the privileged,
while the marginalized suffer.
Cecilia and Robbie both die in wartime, reinforcing the idea that life doesn’t
allow neat resolutions, unlike fiction.
Briony’s entire novel is a reconstruction of memory — flawed, shaped by
guilt, perspective, and time.
Is writing the truth the same as telling the truth?- cathartic
Story- heal and harm
misreads the scene as sexual aggression.
Her writing is her only way to seek forgiveness.
Narrator
Briony, as a child in Part One, is an unreliable narrator because her
interpretations of events are mistaken.
Her limited understanding of adult relationships and the complexity of truth
causes her to misread situations and act based on false assumptions. his
unreliability drives the plot — her false accusation changes the lives of
everyone.
Metafictional- what is true and what is fiction?
McEwan uses free indirect discourse to blend the narrator’s voice
with characters’ inner thoughts, especially with Briony and Robbie.
The narration often dives deeply into characters’ emotions and
psychological states, giving a rich, intimate portrait of their minds.
So, in these parts, the narrator is heterodiegetic because they tell the story
from outside the narrative w
Metadiegetic- story within the story.
1) Heterodiagetic
2) Homodiagetic
3) Extradiagetic- outside from the story
4) Intradiagetic – part three.
5) Metadiagetic- story within the story.
Characters
Imaginative, precocious, naive, and controlling as a child; deeply guilt-ridden
and remorseful as she grows up.
Motivations: As a child, she wants to make sense of the adult world
through stories; as an adult, she seeks atonement for the damage she
caused
Development: Briony moves from childish misunderstanding and
selfishness to mature guilt and a lifelong quest for forgiveness through
writing
Conflict: Struggles with guilt and the limits of her own power to fix
what she broke.
Cecilia
Intelligent, independent, somewhat reserved. but passionate, Defies class
boundaries to pursue a relationship with Robbie; loyal and protective of her
family, but torn between them and her love, Faces social and familial
pressures, plus the heartbreak of separation from Robbie.
Robiie- Intelligent, ambitious, kind-hearted, vulnerable due to class
position. ants to build a life with Cecilia, escape the limits of his
working-class background. Goes from hopeful young man to a soldier
fighting in WWII, physically and emotionally scarred, Endures the
injustice of false accusation, social prejudice, and the horrors of war.
Cecilia has strong feelings—especially for Robbie—but she often
expresses them subtly or private. he hides vulnerability and emotions
to protect herself from the turmoil in her family and the society around
her.When Robbie is falsely accused, Cecilia takes a huge personal risk
by standing by him, breaking with her family’s expectations and social
norms.
