Symbols/motif's Flashcards
The Vase
symbolisesthe fragility of relationships and the Tallis family’s wealth and history.
The vase’s destruction foreshadows the damage to Robbie and Cecilia’s relationship and the Tallis family’s fortunes, and the destruction of the country by War.
The vase is a family heirloom that was given to Uncle Clem to commemorate his liberation of a village in World War I symbolises the Tallis family’s wealth and long history, heroism and war.
‘a section of the lip of the vase came away in his hand, and split into two triangular pieces which dropped into the water and tumbled to the bottom in a synchronous, sea-sawing motion, and lay there, several inches apart, writhing in the broken light’. 3,29 the breaking of the vase symbolizesthe fragile nature of Robbie and Cecilia’s relationship, foreshadowing its destruction due to Briony’s false accusations, essentially representing the shattering of their love and the subsequent disruption of the Tallis family unit as a result of the misunderstanding.
In Emily’s letter to Briony is part 3, we learn that “Betty dropped Uncle Clem’s vase carrying it down and it shattered on the steps.” which is symbolic of The Unchanging Past - The vase, as a symbol of the past, is shattered, highlighting the idea that some things can never truly be undone.
AO5: The Vase - Frank Kermode “… this premonitory damage echoes what happens to other fragile objects highly valued but easily ruined, such as Cecilia’s virginity, and indeed life itself”
‘The fountain and its retaining wall and the half-scale reproduction of…
Bernini’s Triron in the Piazza Barberini in Rome’ ch2pg13
The Tallis fountain is based on Bernini’s Triton, dead bodies displayed in front of it and the people were invited to try and recognise them. Alludes to war and Robbie and Cecilia’s fate.
the fountain symbolizesa pivotal moment of change and revelation in the relationship between Cecilia and Robbie, representing a shift from a platonic bond to a passionate attraction, often misconstrued by young Briony due to her limited perspective, ultimately leading to the destruction of their lives
Water
water primarily symbolizespurity, rebirth, and renewal;often appearing as a symbol of hope and a chance for characters to cleanse themselves from their past mistakes.
Transformation and coming-of-age: When Cecilia jumps into the fountain, the water represents her transition from childhood innocence to a more mature understanding of her desires.
Hope and survival: During the war scenes, water is often depicted as a source of life and a symbol of Robbie’s will to survive.
Guilt and cleansing: While water represents purity, it can also be used to signify the need for atonement and washing away of guilt, particularly in Briony’s perspective.
Bridges
Symbolic meaning: The bridges represent the potential for connection and the possibility of overcoming obstacles, but also highlight the fragility of these connections, as they can be easily broken by external forces or misunderstandings.
In part one: The bridge issymbolic of Briony’s transition from childhood to adolescence and the repeated crossing may metaphorically reflect how Briony switches between the two.
The end of part one: the police car ‘went over the first bridge, crossed the island and then the second bridge, and finally vanished into the whiteness.’ (ch14:p187)
Symbolises and moment of transition due to Briony’s actions.
In part two: Bridges and the idea of crossing is significant throughout Robbie’s journey and it reminds us of the distance placed between him and Cecilia and his determination to overcom these obsatcles and be back with her.
References to family’s being torn apart in part 2
The Bonnet sons describe how the loss of their older brother had such a damaging effect on their mother.
Robbie cannot get the family of the boy in pyjamas out of his head.
Cecilia’s letter tells Robbie that one of the premature twins she has been looking after on the maternity ward has died.
This is all symbolic of the consequences of crime and war
“The oldest of the children… snapped off the Triton’s horn and his arm” (278)
Symbolism: damaged statue
The damage to the statue in the Triton fountain at home is symbolic of how the life of privilege enjoyed by families such as the Tallises will soon be disrupted by the social changes stemming from World War 2.
Malvolio
Chapter 8: We learn that Robbie has previously played the part of Malvolio in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, a failure in love who suffers public humiliation and is imprisoned. The parallels with Robbie’s life will soon become clear. “At the outer reaches of his desk, various photographs: the cast of twelfth night on the college lawn, himself as Malvolio, cross-gartered.” (82)
Chapter 11: Robbie recalls a quote spoken by Malvolio in Twelfth Night (“nothing that can be can come between me and the full prospect of my hopes”) in which Malvolio mistakenly states that nothing can prevent him from finding love and happiness with Olivia.
This allusion acts as a possible foreshadowing of future heartbreak for Robbie.
Part 2: When in prison, Robbie and Cecilia have to communicate through censored letters “so they wrote about literature, and used character as codes… the Duke Orsino and Olivia (and Malvolio too)…”
Part 3: During Briony’s visit to Cecilia’s apartment, McEwan zooms in on “a collected Shakespeare” on the table. A reminder of Malvolio and the suffering Robbie has experienced. (335)
Grey’s anatomy
Chapter 8: when Robbie realises he gave Briony the wrong letter: “The handwritten letter he had rested on the open copy of Gray’s Anatomy, splanchnology section, page 1546, the vagina.” (94)
Part 2: In Cecilia’s letter to Robbie: she wrote ‘I went to library today to get the anatomy book I told you about. I found a quiet corner and pretended to read.’ (205)
Part 3: During Briony’s visit to Cecilia’s apartment, McEwan zooms in on a copy of “Gray’s Anatomy” on the table - a reminder of the letter. (335)
The trials of Arabella
a woman who falls in love with her doctor, mirrors Cecilia and Robbie as she gives both a happy ending, yet in reality Robbie never becomes a doctor
Creates a cyclical structure
AO5: Frank Kermode-how the novel is a grown up version of Briony’s play: Briony’s play was the fantasy of a very young writer enchanted by the idea that she could in a few pages create a world complete with terrors and climaxes… The entire novel is a grown up version of this achievement
Letters
Wiltshire dream
