Atonement Flashcards
one of those children
possessed with a desire to have the world just so
a passion
for secrets
nothing in her life was
sufficiently interesting or shameful to merit hiding
the self contained world she had drawn with
clear and perfect lines had been defaced with the scribble of other minds, other needs
in a story you only had to wish
you only had to write it down and you could have the world
she could write the scene three times over,
from three points of view
she was entering an
area of adult emotion
something irreducibly human, or male
threatened the order of their household, and Briony knew that unless she helped her sister, they would all suffer
order must be
imposed
as far as was concerned, everything fitted…
the affair was too consisted, too symmetrical to be anything other than what she said it was
she was the sort of girl
who lived in her thoughts
yes she was a child. but not every child sends a man to
prison with a lie. Not every child is so purposeful and malign, so consistent over time, never wavering, never doubted’
