Genre

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Genre of Atonement: Epilogue & "C.C."s Letter

In many ways, Atonement is a typical postmodern novel.

Self-reflexive novel

Atonement is self-reflexive, meaning that it draws attention to its own artificiality as a work of fiction.
The date and signature at the end of Part Three sets up the conceit that Briony is the ‘writer’ of the novel we have been reading and that we, like Briony, have just finished a freshly completed final draft of the novel.

Significance of the epilogue

The epilogue (London, 1999) adds another layer of narrative to the text.
This metanarrative reveals that the description of the visit to Cecilia is purely an invention by the ‘real’ author of the text, Briony.
This admission draws further attention to the fact that the text is an artificial construct put together by Briony and not a ‘real’ or ‘truthful’ version of events.

Evolution of Briony's novel

We are also shown how Briony’s novel evolves.
In her teens, she writes a short story, Two Figures by a Fountain, based on “the crystalline present moment” (p312) when Cecilia observes Robbie and Cecilia by the Triton fountain.

Letter from "C.C."

McEwan provides us with the whole text of a letter from “C.C.”, the editor of Horizon Literary Journal explaining his decision not to publish this story but also offering encouragement and advice on how Briony can improve it by providing a more developed “narrative”, advice Briony clearly takes on board.
In another blurring of fiction and reality, this “C.C” is a real person, Cyril Connolly, who was indeed editor of Horizon in 1940. The letter, however, is an invention.

Power of an author

Throughout, the novel explores the power an author has over his or her readers.
The key protagonist in the novel is a writer. She is presented to us as such from the opening pages of the novel, when she has just completed her first play, The Trials of Arabella, to the closing pages, where she justifies her decision to rewrite the past.

Genre of Atonement: Moral Purpose & Intertextuality

Briony's texts are written with moral purposes in mind. McEwan alludes to Northanger Abbey.

Moral purpose: atonement

Just as The Trials of Arabella was written with a moral purpose in mind - to persuade her brother, Leon, to settle down and marry – so the novel we are reading has a moral purpose – to atone for the “crime” Briony has committed against Robbie and Cecilia.
To fulfil this aim, Briony, like “God”, brings Robbie and Cecilia back from the dead.

Allusions to Northanger Abbey

Another typical feature of postmodern novels is intertextuality – the interplay between the novel and other texts through allusions, parallels etc.
One of the most significant allusions is to Jane Austen’s novel, Northanger Abbey (1803).
The Tallis home to which Briony returns to in Part Four is now a hotel called Tilney’s, the name a direct reference to Henry Tilney, the heroine’s love interest in the novel, and the speaker of the lines which McEwan uses as the epigraph to his novel (“Dear Miss Morland…”).

Catherine Morland vs Briony

These references to Northanger Abbey create different layers of irony.
The heroine of the novel, Catherine Morland (the “Miss Morland” to whom the words in McEwan’s epigraph are addressed) shares many similarities with Briony:
- Both of them are obsessed with fiction (Catherine Morland is an avid reader of gothic novels);
- Both of them let their imaginations run away with them, concocting sensational stories from the world around themselves and casting innocent men as villains.

Irony in the epigraph

But Henry Tilney’s words in the epigraph also contain a darker irony.
He admonishes Miss Morland by reminding her that “we are English… we are Christians” and refers to the importance of “our laws” in English society.
However, McEwan’s novel will expose the darkness and corruption which lie beneath the respectable façade of 1930s upper-middle-class society and show how class prejudice can unduly influence our legal system, with the innocent punished and the guilty left scot free.

1Introduction to Atonement

1.1Introduction & Background to Atonement

1.1.1Background to the Author - Ian McEwan

1.1.2Settings & Historical Context of Atonement

1.1.3Social Issues Raised in Atonement

1.2Focus of Your Exam: Crime Texts

1.2.1Atonement as a Crime Text

2Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part One

2.1Chapter 1

2.1.1Chapter 1: Key Events

2.1.2Chapter 1: Key Themes

2.2Chapter 2

2.2.1Chapter 2: Key Events

2.2.2Chapter 2: Key Themes

2.3Chapter 3

2.3.1Chapter 3: Key Events

2.3.2Chapter 3: Key Themes

2.4Chapter 4

2.4.1Chapter 4: Key Events

2.4.2Chapter 4: Key Themes

2.5Chapter 5

2.5.1Chapter 5: Key Events

2.5.2Chapter 5: Key Themes

2.6Chapter 6

2.6.1Chapter 6: Key Events & Themes

2.7Chapter 7

2.7.1Chapter 7: Key Events

2.7.2Chapter 7: Key Themes

2.8Chapter 8

2.8.1Chapter 8: Key Events

2.8.2Chapter 8: Key Themes

2.9Chapter 9

2.9.1Chapter 9: Key Events

2.9.2Chapter 9: Key Themes

2.10Chapter 10

2.10.1Chapter 10: Key Events

2.10.2Chapter 10: Key Themes

2.11Chapter 11

2.11.1Chapter 11: Key Events

2.11.2Chapter 11: Key Themes

2.12Chapter 12

2.12.1Chapter 12: Key Events

2.12.2Chapter 12: Key Themes

2.13Chapter 13

2.13.1Chapter 13: Key Events

2.13.2Chapter 13: Key Themes

2.14Chapter 14

2.14.1Chapter 14: Key Events

2.14.2Chapter 14: Key Themes

3Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part Two

3.1Pages 191-201: To the Farmhouse

3.1.1Pages 191-201: Key Events

3.1.2Pages 191-201: Key Themes

3.2Pages 202-213: The Night in the Barn

3.2.1Pages 202-213: Key Events

3.2.2Pages 202-213: Key Themes

3.3Pages 214-226: The Attack

3.3.1Pages 214-226: Key Events

3.3.2Pages 214-226: Key Themes

3.4Pages 226-234: Robbie's Reflections

3.4.1Pages 226-234: Key Events

3.4.2Pages 226-234: Key Themes

3.5Pages 234-246: To the Bridge over the Canal

3.5.1Pages 234-246: Key Events

3.5.2Pages 234-246: Key Themes

3.6Pages 246-254: Arrival at Dunkirk

3.6.1Pages 246-254: Key Events

3.6.2Pages 246-254: Key Themes

3.7Pages 254-265: To the Cellar

3.7.1Pages 254-265: Key Events

3.7.2Pages 254-265: Key Themes

4Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part Three

4.1Pages 269-277: London, 1940

4.1.1Pages 269-277: Key Events

4.1.2Pages 269-277: Key Themes

4.2Pages 277-286: Briony as Writer

4.2.1Pages 277-286: Key Events

4.2.2Pages 277-286: Key Themes

4.3Pages 287-315: Victims of War

4.3.1Pages 287-315: Key Events

4.3.2Pages 287-315: Key Themes

4.4Pages 315-327: Lola & Paul Marshall’s Wedding

4.4.1Pages 315-327: Key Events

4.4.2Pages 315-327: Key Themes

4.5Pages 328-349: The Visit

4.5.1Pages 328-349: Key Events

4.5.2Pages 328-349: Key Themes

5Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part Four

5.1Epilogue: London, 1999 - Pages 353-371

5.1.1Pages 353-371: Key Events

5.1.2Pages 353-371: Key Themes

6Key Character Profiles

6.1Briony Tallis

6.1.1Overview of Briony's Character

6.1.2Briony in Part One

6.1.3Briony in Part Three & Four

6.2Robbie Turner

6.2.1Overview of Robbie's Character

6.2.2Robbie in Part One

6.2.3Robbie in Part Two & Three

6.3Cecilia Tallis

6.3.1Cecilia in Part One

6.3.2Cecilia in Part Three

6.4Lola Quincey

6.4.1Overview of Lola Quincey

6.4.2Lola Relationship with Marshall

6.5Paul Marshall

6.5.1Overview of Paul Marshall

6.5.2Paul Marshall's Relationship with Lola

6.5.3Paul Marshall's Power

6.6Emily Tallis

6.6.1Overview of Emily Tallis

6.6.2Emily Tallis' Character

7Key Themes

7.1Introduction to Crime Texts

7.1.1Common Themes in Crime Texts

7.2Crimes in Atonement

7.2.1Crimes in Atonement

7.2.2Structural Patterning & Ambiguity in Crime Texts

7.3Criminals in Atonement

7.3.1Paul Marshall & Lola as Criminals

7.3.2Narrative Point of View in Crime Texts

7.4Victims in Atonement

7.4.1Lola, Robbie & Cecilia as Victims

7.4.2Females Victims & Social Class in Crime Texts

7.5Detection in Atonement

7.5.1Detection in Atonement

7.5.2Detection in Crime Texts

7.6Settings in Atonement

7.6.1Settings in Atonement

7.6.2Symbolism of Settings in Crime Texts

7.7Guilt & Punishment in Atonement

7.7.1Marshall & Briony Escaping Punishment

7.7.2Guilt & Punishment in Crime Texts

8Writing Techniques

8.1Structure

8.1.1Overview of Structure

8.1.2Metanarrative, Circular Structure & Ending

8.1.3Manipulation of Time

8.2Form

8.2.1Narrative Perspective

8.2.2Genre

8.3Symbols & Motifs

8.3.1Symbolism of the Vase & Amo Bar

8.4Language

8.4.1Focalising Through Briony & Robbie

9Context

9.1Historical Context

9.1.1The Summer of 1935

9.1.2Dunkirk, 1940

9.1.3London, 1940

9.2Social Context

9.2.1Social Class

9.2.2The Role of Women in the 1930/40s

9.3Literary Context

9.3.1Literary Genres & Atonement

10Critical Debates

10.1Marxist Literary Criticism

10.1.1Introduction to Marxist Literary Criticism

10.1.2Marxist Readings: Importance of Social Class

10.1.3Marxist Reading: Capitalist Exploitation & War

10.2Feminist Literary Criticism

10.2.1Introduction to Feminist Literary Criticism

10.2.2Feminist Readings: Gender Roles & Stereotypes

10.2.3Feminist Readings: Marriage & Family

10.2.4Feminist Readings: Male & Female Sexuality

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