The Strange Case of Briony Tallis

How jealousy tore love apart

The deceptive nature of Briony Tallis binds the pages of Atonement together. The extremely beloved novel by the proficient writer Ian McEwan centers around the selfish desires of a deceptive young girl and how they put an innocent man in jail, and a sister out on the street.

The Tallis’ are having a casual family gathering, as ten-year old Briony Tallis prepares to showcase her affectionate play, ‘The Tales of Arabella.” What better way to impress her older brother Leon than showcasing the very best of her zeal for writing?

To perform the play, Briony enlists the help of her three splendid cousins: Lola, a shy but ambitious young girl, and Lola’s mischievous twin brothers Jackson and Pierrot. Briony’s plan of thrilling Leon begins to backfire when Lola pleads to play the star role of Arabella in the play, crushing Briony’s original goal.

Due to this newfound avalanche of defeat, Briony becomes distracted and finds an opportunity to get the attention and praise she desires. After seeing an intimate Robbie and Cecilia in the library, and a dark figure sexually assaulting Lola, Briony accuses Robbie Turner, the son of the Tallis’ maid, of sexually assaulting both her older sister Cecilia and her older cousin Lola.

What follows the accusation is years of imprisonment and deadly warfare for Robbie, and years of loneliness for Cecilia. In the end, Briony never procures her dreams, and Robbie and Cecilia die young, with years of love never experienced on Earth. While, the dark and deceptive nature of Briony isn’t disguised by the novel, the motives behind her deception are left to the interpretation of the reader.

One of the more obvious motivations for Briony’s libel is the intense jealousy she felt towards her sister Cecilia.

During a Robbie induced flashback, it is discovered that a young Briony once dangerously and desperately jumped into a river, while alone with Robbie. Robbie rushed to save her, and when scolded she admitted that she jumped into the water because she loved him.

She later explained how she jumped into the river to test the strength of Robbie’s bond, “I wanted to know if you’d save me.”

This event gives Briony clear motivation for the deception she unleashed, as it showcases why she would develop intense anger towards Robbie for choosing Cecilia over her.

Briony took advantage of capturing Robbie’s intimate moments with Cecilia, and used them as a way to get back at Robbie for his innocent choice.

While jealousy was a clear motivator for Briony, it wasn’t the only thing that worked to unleash the deception from her lips.

While Briony’s subtle desire to participate in adult activity is more arduous to uncover than her jealous lust for Robbie, it is just as critical to establishing the motivation for her underhanded lie.

Briony was still a young girl when she falsely accused Robbie of rape, she even refused to say the word, referring to it as an “unspeakable word.” However, while she may have been young on paper, she was aspiring to be fully bloomed. Her desire to appear aged is illuminated in one major area of the novel.

During the midst of her deep deception, Briony took time to elate at the idea of throwing her childhood in the attic, “In the space of a few hours she had witnessed mysteries, seen an unspeakable word, interrupted brutal behavior, and by incurring the hatred of an adult whom everyone had trusted, she had become a participant in the drama of life beyond the nursery.” Briony’s derogatory description of childhood as “the nursery” speaks volumes on the disdain she had for her adolescence.

However, Briony’s substantial disdain doesn’t end there. After interrupting Robbie and Cecilia in the library, Briony is convinced that Robbie hates her, this invigorates her. Briony saw an adult hating her as yet another elevation into the adult world, as elaborated, “Another first: to be hated by an adult. Children hated generously, capriciously. It hardly mattered. But to be the object of adult hatred was an initiation into a solemn new world. It was promotion.”

When Briony saw Robbie and Cecilia intimate in the library she knew she hit the jackpot, not only could she use this to get back at Robbie, but also as a way to hasten into adulthood.

The motives behind Briony’s deception are crucial to Atonement’s overall meaning, but pale in comparison to the impact of the deception she performs.

If Briony told the truth or even if she believed she did, Atonement would struggle to induce anger in its audience. Briony’s deception is the only thing granting immense disdain to the audience, as without her deception the audience would feel no ill will towards Briony, as without her betrayal she was merely trying to protect her sister and her cousin.

The audience’s feelings towards Robbie’s unjust pain would become mere sadness, as he suffered by mistake as opposed to disturbing deception.

The treachery of Briony also makes the ending even more soul-crushing, as the audience is left unsatisfied. Not only will those rooting for marriage bells be left with the devastated rings of church bells, but those rooting for Briony’s destruction will also be left searching for more cracks in her composure.

Briony’s deception not only cements her as an oscar worthy villain, but also allows the audience to unite for one angry cause.

The twisted story of Briony Tallis tells of love and life torn apart by romantic jealousy.

Briony Tallis took advantage of moments meant to remain unknown and pitch-black skies to get back at an innocent man who wouldn’t love her, and to warm up a seat at the grown-ups table.

As despicable as Briony’s deception was, it was imperative to the overall meaning of the novel, as it not only allowed the audience to become fueled by anger, but also allowed the ending to be far more impactful.

The strange case of Briony Tallis all spins on the wheels of deception.