Briony's failure to achieve atonement in McEwan's novel

Atonement - Briony

In both the Jewish and Christian religions, atonement is defined as making one's peace with God for the transgression one has committed. What, however, is the definition of atonement when leaving religion out of the equation? How does a person atone for something he or she has done? Is it not to forgive oneself? Is it not to admit clearly to the person inside, who knows right from wrong, that a wrong was done? As in the book Atonement, this does not mean that the wrong can be righted. In most cases, this is impossible, since there are always ramifications to every word and act. It rather means that a person can once again look in the mirror and truthfully face his or her actions. Does Briony do this?

It is understandable that Briony set this whole terrible incident into action. She was just 13, trying to sort out her own life as adolescents do, and living in a world between reality and fiction. She did not think about the result of her words. She just acted blindly, as youths do at that age. Once the deed was done, it was too difficult to take back. Insecurity and low self-image keep people from admitting the mistakes they make. Thus, at this point, Briony is no villain. In fact, she is nearly a sympathetic character. This could or has happened to many individuals -- saying or doing something without thinking and then not knowing how to get out of the web of lies.

But what about Briony when she is older and supposedly wiser? Does she remain a sympathetic character in her aging years? Based on the definition above of atonement, this cannot be the case. She knows what she has done and reveals her account of the crime of a wrong accusation. Yet, she cannot clearly face herself in the mirror and admit to that inner self exactly what she had set in motion that day. At the end she instead turns away from reality into fiction and states: "How could that constitute an ending?