3.2.1

Pages 202-213: Key Events

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Key Events in Pages 202-213: The Night in the Barn

While Mace and Nettle sleep, Robbie lies awake, the pain from his shrapnel wound troubling him. He recalls his last meeting with Cecilia before the outbreak of WW2 forced them apart and then re-reads his last letter from her.

Illustrative background for Robbie recalls the lettersIllustrative background for Robbie recalls the letters ?? "content

Robbie recalls the letters

  • Robbie recalls the letters he exchanged with Cecilia when he was in prison. The letters show Robbie and Cecilia create new and heroic identities for each other, imagining themselves as famous lovers from the literature texts they have both studied.
Illustrative background for Quotation: famous lovers Illustrative background for Quotation: famous lovers  ?? "content

Quotation: famous lovers

  • “So they wrote about literature, and used characters as codes … Tristan and Isolde, the Duke Orsino and Olivia (and Malvolio too), Troilus and Criseyde, Mr Knightley and Emma, Venus and Adonis. Turner and Tallis.” (p204).
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Analysis of lovers referenced

  • By referencing famous pairs of lovers, Briony (the ‘true’ narrator of Part Two) suggests that Robbie’s and Cecilia’s love is of a heroic status.
  • However, readers may be troubled by the fact that most of the love affairs alluded to here end in failure or tragedy, a possible foreshadowing of the fate awaiting Robbie and Cecilia.

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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