Symbolism of the Vase & Amo Bar

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Symbolism of the Vase in Atonement

Partly because of the awkwardness between Cecilia and Robbie, they end up breaking the priceless Meissen porcelain vase which Cecilia has taken to the fountain to fill with water.

Quotation: breaking vase

“With a sound like a dry twig snapping, a section of the lip of the vase came away in his hand, and split into two triangular pieces which dropped into the water…” (p29).

Symbolises fragile relationship

This can be seen as symbolic on several levels.
The broken vase could symbolise the fragility of Robbie’s and Cecilia’s love affair with the two lovers forced apart by Briony’s witness statement.

Symbolises wealth

The vase can also be seen as symbolic of the Tallis family’s fortunes: the family will be torn apart in the weeks and months following Robbie’s arrest and they will eventually lose their grand country house.

Symbol of war

The vase can also be seen as a symbol of war.
The vase was given to Uncle Clem, Jack Tallis’ brother, to recognise his role in the liberation of a village in France during the First World War.
Two decades later, the scene by the fountain will begin a chain of events which will lead to Robbie’s death in northern France during the Second World War.

Frank Kermode on the vase

In a review of Atonement which appeared in the London Review of Books in October, 2001, the critic Frank Kermode suggested that the damage to the vase “echoes what happens to other fragile objects highly valued but easily ruined, such as Cecilia’s virginity, and indeed life itself.”

Symbolism of the Amo Bar & 'Steeple' Gesture in Atonement

The Amo bars manufactured by Paul Marshall are a recurring motif in the play.

Symbolism of exploitation

Their appearance in Part Three of the novel confirms that Marshall’s “vision” of the chocolate bar becoming standard issue for every British soldier has come true.
The Amo bars can be seen as a symbol of exploitation. Marshall exploits the coming of a new war as a marketing opportunity for his product, deliberately giving it a name with military associations (‘ammo’ - ammunition), a connotation underlined by McEwan using the term “shell” to describe its hard outer coating.

Tool of seduction

Marshall also uses the chocolate bar as a tool of seduction with which he exploits Lola’s vulnerability.
Marshall’s language to her is inappropriately sexualised and the pleasure he takes from watching her eat it is disturbing.

Marshall's "steeple" gesture

When Lola first tastes the Amo bar at the end of Chapter 5, Paul Marshall is described as “watching her closely over the steeple he made with his hands in front of his face” (p62).
Commentators have suggested that this “steeple” shape can be seen as a foreshadowing of Marshall’s sexual assault of Lola which takes place by the island temple.

Cecilia's 'steeple' hand gesture

Interestingly, the same gesture is made by Cecilia in Chapter 11 as she draws Robbie “deeper into the gloom” of the library before they make love.
This time, the sexual act is consensual, but Briony will misinterpret it as Robbie acting like a “maniac”.