2.2.1

Chapter 2: Key Events

Test yourself

Key Event in Chapter 2: Cecilia and Robbie Meet

Briony’s older sister, Cecilia Tallis, carries a valuable vase to the fountain outside to fill it with water. There, she meets Robbie Turner, the son of the Tallis family’s cleaning lady.

Illustrative background for What happens in Chapter 2?Illustrative background for What happens in Chapter 2? ?? "content

What happens in Chapter 2?

  • Cecilia and Robbie engage in awkward conversation.
  • In a moment of clumsiness between them, the vase is broken.
  • Cecilia, in anger, removes her skirt and blouse and steps into the fountain to retrieve the broken pieces.
    • We begin to see beneath the surface of Robbie and Cecilia’s relationship; the love story at the heart of the novel.
Illustrative background for Quotation: Cecilia & Robbie meetIllustrative background for Quotation: Cecilia & Robbie meet ?? "content

Quotation: Cecilia & Robbie meet

  • “There was something between them, and even she had to acknowledge that a tame remark about the weather sounded perverse.”
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Analysis of key words

  • There is a recognition from Cecilia’s point of view of some mutual feelings between the pair, but the vagueness of “something” suggests uncertainty as to their true nature.
  • The adjective “perverse” also hints at a sense of shame or guilt, perhaps caused by the fact they have been childhood friends.

Jump to other topics

1Introduction to Atonement

2Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part One

3Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part Two

4Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part Three

5Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part Four

5.1Epilogue: London, 1999 - Pages 353-371

6Key Character Profiles

7Key Themes

8Writing Techniques

9Context

10Critical Debates

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