Chapter 12: Key Themes
English Lit: AQA A Level Atonement - Specification B, topic 2.12.2
Key Themes in Chapter 12:
Chapter 12 gives us an insight into Emily Tallis' character. The theme of childhood runs throughout the chapter.
Emily's narrative viewpoint
- Despite the drama happening in the grounds, we stay with Emily Tallis in the “thick walls of silence” of her home.
- We see her anticipate the telephone call she needs to make to the police constable and how she becomes side-tracked by her irritation with Lola, whose attention-seeking behaviour has reminded Emily of Lola’s mother, Hermione.
Emily's self interest
- The reader is left with the impression of Emily being utterly self-absorbed.
- While we may sympathise with Emily because she's aware that her husband is having an affair, readers may be frustrated by her passivity, seen in her unwillingness to confront her husband, and by her lapses into self-pity.
Emily's lack of judgement
- Emily’s lack of judgement will also affect how readers respond to her. We learn that she was impressed with Marshall and even considers him as a potential husband for Cecilia (“Was he suitable?” (p152)).
- Emily’s poor judgement is again illustrated when her husband does not hesitate in calling the police, unlike her.
"Ghost" of Emily's childhood
- Emily reflects on the “ghost” of her childhood and remembers “her aggrieved, overlooked ten-year-old self” (p151).
- Typically for Emily, after considering the “approaching end of Briony’s childhood”, she begins to focus on herself and before long, descends into self-pity.
“Wronged child, wronged wife”
- Emily sums up her life in the phrase, “wronged child, wronged wife” (p148).
- This illustrates a key idea which is explored in the novel – the extent to which one’s childhood shapes one’s later life.
- Emily, reflecting on the “limited arc of existence” feels that her life’s path was determined in childhood.
Test yourself on Chapter 12: Key Themes
How is Emily's home described in Chapter 12?
What does Emily say about her childhood in Chapter 12?