Atonement Chapter 4

'she had rescued Briony from self-destruction'

• Cecilia taking the motherly role of Briony- Emily Tallis absent
• Briony's self destruction- ironic, at the end of novel, she destructs her fictional, 'happy' ending.

'Come back...it's only a dream, come back'

• Key motif throughout the novel
• Again, Cecilia takes the role of mother to Briony
• Cecilia and Robbie plunged into a nightmare of Briony's making- makes the motif in this context somewhat ironic.

'judged the vase repaired'

• Vase= symbol of relationship between Cecilia and Robbie
• Repairs vase in library- later consummation of their love

'they fell into another orderly pattern. still, it hardly mattered.'

• Influence of order over Cecilia's life- no matter how hard she tries the flowers still look orderly.
• Metaphor for the story- Briony as author and narrator, hence the story is ordered.

'Cecilia shrugged away the association with robbie...'

• As aforementioned, as much as she doesn't want him to be, Robbie is on Cecilia's mind.
• Doesn't actually make an appearance, but his name is mentioned four times directly, and many times indriectly throughout this chapter.

'where and when a woman should be seen smoking'

• Ideas regarding women in 1935
• About to be overturned by the war- women in the workforce

'...indirect afternoon light, reflected from the gravel... yellowish-orange tones of a sepia print.'

• Motif of light
• Imagery of light common on important scenes of the novel
• Observed here as Paul Marshall and Leon are about to be introduced

'...was aware that Paul Marshall was staring at her...'

• Sets up a sinister air around Marshall
• Could foreshadow future events; Briony the narrator 'dropping hints' to her reader?

'emily's lying down'. it was hardly necessary to say it.'

• Emily Tallis- absent mother
• Not just when the children are old enough to look after themselves, when they were younger as well.

'noticed him hanging around the children lately'

• Not only Paul Marshall has a sinister air in this chapter
• Due to his class, Danny Hardman more likely to be suspected of crimes of a sexual nature- hence Cecilia's incorrect conviction of the later rape
• Real vs Imagined- Briony as author/narrator, what did DH actually do?

'everything was already long in the past'

• Self-aware
• Clue of meta-fictive element

'everything was already long in the past'

'the launch of rainbow amo had been a triumph'

• Amo- latin verb
• Making his riches out of the war- sets up Paul Marshall as somewhat immoral

'she hardly speaks to him...she wouldn't let him near her Roedean chums...'

• Show of class and the rift it causes between the two lovers
• Transgression of class barriers later
• AO3- Girton college
• Further- 'you think he can't hold a knife and fork'

'Something's happened between you...For god's sake!'

• Cecilia's last utterance shows how much Robbie is able to irk her
• Her speech and actions in these pages show us the effect Robbie has on her
• Normally cool and calm, Cecilia is flustered

'the pointlessness of argument...lolled...lazily'

• As quickly as she became flustered, Cecilia returns to her normal state of flippancy- she sees no point in arguing
• Maybe she subconsciously wants Robbie to come to dinner?

'all outcomes...were already in place'

• Meta-fiction clue- a self-aware comment
• Determinsim- the future is fixed

'she felt him touch her lightly on the forearm. or it may have been a leaf'

• Focus on instability of the narrative- what is real and what is imagined?
• Sets up sinister air, again, around Marshall.