To what extent is Briony a reliable narrator in Atonement
Does the character of Briony give an unbiased reflection of her character in chapters 1-2?
On the one hand, the narrator's reflection of Briony does appear to be biased, as she paints those she disagrees with in a negative light. In chapter 1, when the reader is introduced to her cousins, we are told that they were divorced. Even though in 1935, (when the novel is set) divorce was rather scandalous, and (especially) the women would attain pariah status, one would expect the children of a divorced couple to be treated with more compassion by their relatives, especially a child of 13 who is prone to naivety. Yet the narrator portrays the cousins as callous, and as such the readers perceive the Quincey's to be ill mannered and disrespectful of Briony's hospitality. Again, that the narrator shows no mention of the divorce after introducing them conveys the impression that Briony only saw how they impacted upon her play, and her idyllic view on how they should behave- An unbiased narrator would display more sympathy to their plight. In the beginning of chapter 2, the readers are introduced by the narrator to Cecelia, Briony's sister, and Robbie, Cecelia's childhood friend. Whereas Cecilia has two paragraphs dedicated by the narrator to describing her appearance, Robbie simply has one sentence, "Robbie Turner was on his knees, weeding along a rugosa hedge, and she did not feel like getting into a conversation with him." Briony had a "crush" on Robbie before the events of the novel, while he rebuked her, and this may have impacted her view of him. His first description is of reminiscent of a servant, doing work beneath her family. A rugosa hedge is an exotic, expensive species of plan native to Eastern Asia. This may have been an allusion to how Briony views Robbie in the context of the social heirachy- the narrator views herself and her family as glamorous, having a life that is almost unattainable. Yet Robbie is contrasted as a weed, hard to get rid of,
On the one hand, the narrator's reflection of Briony does appear to be biased, as she paints those she disagrees with in a negative light. In chapter 1, when the reader is introduced to her cousins, we are told that they were divorced. Even though in 1935, (when the novel is set) divorce was rather scandalous, and (especially) the women would attain pariah status, one would expect the children of a divorced couple to be treated with more compassion by their relatives, especially a child of 13 who is prone to naivety. Yet the narrator portrays the cousins as callous, and as such the readers perceive the Quincey's to be ill mannered and disrespectful of Briony's hospitality. Again, that the narrator shows no mention of the divorce after introducing them conveys the impression that Briony only saw how they impacted upon her play, and her idyllic view on how they should behave- An unbiased narrator would display more sympathy to their plight. In the beginning of chapter 2, the readers are introduced by the narrator to Cecelia, Briony's sister, and Robbie, Cecelia's childhood friend. Whereas Cecilia has two paragraphs dedicated by the narrator to describing her appearance, Robbie simply has one sentence, "Robbie Turner was on his knees, weeding along a rugosa hedge, and she did not feel like getting into a conversation with him." Briony had a "crush" on Robbie before the events of the novel, while he rebuked her, and this may have impacted her view of him. His first description is of reminiscent of a servant, doing work beneath her family. A rugosa hedge is an exotic, expensive species of plan native to Eastern Asia. This may have been an allusion to how Briony views Robbie in the context of the social heirachy- the narrator views herself and her family as glamorous, having a life that is almost unattainable. Yet Robbie is contrasted as a weed, hard to get rid of,