Atonement Flashcards
“Her sandals revealed an ankle bracelet and toenails painted vermilion. The sight of these nails gave Briony a constricting sensation around her sternum, and she knew at once that she could not ask Lola to play the prince” - Page 11
This emphasises how young Briony feels in comparison to her cousin due to her older and feminine looks, making her realise she is still childish with personality and looks.
“As she saw the dress make its perfect, clinging fit around her cousin” - Page 14
This shows Briony’s jealousy of Lola growing up and becoming more feminine in her looks. Lola has matured and her body has developed to fit the dress that doesn’t fit Briony yet, showing her young age.
“As for Lola, she spoke her lines correctly but casually, and sometimes smiled inappropriately at some private thought, determined to demonstrate that her nearly adult mind was elsewhere” - Page 17
This shows Lola trying to act much older than her cousins despite being only 2 years older than Briony. It also shows Briony does not understand Lola’s adult humour/mind due to her young age.
“her only reasonable choice then would be to run away, to live under hedges, eat berries and speak to no one, and be found by a bearded woodsman one winter’s dawn, curled up at the base of a giant oak, beautiful and dead, and barefoot, or perhaps wearing the ballet pumps with the pink ribbon straps…” - Page 14-15
After giving the main part in her play to Lola, Briony’s immature, childish mind decided that instead of facing her problems, her best idea was to run away.
“what power one [person] could have over the other…” - Page 39
In the course of the novel, Briony is seen longing for different kinds of power - the power that comes from being recognised as a good artist; the power of being privy to other people’s secrets and the power that comes from being acknowledged and looked up to by ones family members.
“conventionally dull” - Page 47
This shows that Cecilia views Paul as a very boring and plain character.
“The truth had been as ghostly as invention” - Page 41
This shows how unsure Briony is of whether the fountain scene was real or not which in turn shows that her narrative is an unreliable source. ‘ghostly’ has connotations of the past, showing it is only a memory and isn’t remembered perfectly. The word choice of ‘invention’ is relevant since Briony is an invented of plays as well as irrational scenarios.
