Atonement Part 3

Summary - Part 3 brings us back to Briony's point of view as she undergoes rigorous training as a nurse. She and her peers go through long hours of tedious chores and classes under the watch of the tough Sister Drummond. The hosipital is preparing for a large group of wounded of soldiers to come in from the battlefield. The soldiers finally come, shocking all of the women forever. The extent of some of their wounds was inconceivable. The amount of fatalities and horrific wounds was astronomical. Briony's perspective on nursing changes forever on that day. She doesn't mind giving up writing for helping save others. In critical moments, she learned how to separate herself from normal emotions to help the wounded. She finds a letter from a publishing company rejecting her novel, which is clearly a retelling of the events of that fateful day at the fountain, but encourages her potential with constructive criticism.

On her day off, Briony walks through London to go to a church where Lola and Paul Marshall are getting married. She arrives and wants to stop the wedding and confront everyone with the truth. However, she lets her cowardice get the best of her, and she did nothing. She walks to Cecilia's house where she sees her for the first time in several years. Cecilia confronts her with the issues of the past and says she will never forgive Briony what she did. Robbie enters the room and the confrontation only becomes more heated. Cecilia calms him down and they come to an agreement. Briony will redeem herself by telling the family the truth and get an official statement of the new evidence. The part ends with her leaving to get the statement while Cecilia and Robbie enjoy their last moments together before he leaves for drill.

The story takes us to London in 1999. It is Briony's 77th birthday, and she has been diagnosed with dementia. She is trying to write a book about the events of WWII. She runs into Lola and Paul Marshall outside of the library, where Marshall looks frail, but Lola is strong as ever. The couple has obviously contributed greatly to the community and are admired in the city. Briony goes back to her childhood home, which is now a hotel, for a birthday dinner with the extended family. The children perform her play, The Trials of Arabella, before dinner. The family shows Briony lots of love and respect for her and what she has accomplished. In her room that night, she contemplates over her book that contains the truth about the situation that has never gotten published. It can't be until Lola and Paul Marshall are dead, but truth wouldn't make a good story. Robbie died at Bray Dunes on June 1, 1940. Cecilia dies the following September from the bomb in Balham Station. Briony wanted them to be at the dinner table, still in love and happy, but that was out of reach.

Response - WORST ENDING EVER. The last two pages broke my heart, but I shouldn't be surprised. Life isn't a fairy tale. There isn't always justice. Heroes lose and villains prevail. It just seems that Robbie and Cecilia deserved their fairy tale more than anyone else.

The injuries described in the beginning of Part 3 made me realize that this actually happened. The soldiers just didn't get small scabs or break their arms, it was beyond anything I could possibly imagine. I could never be able to treat them without being emotionally and physically affected. This just put the hell of war into perspective even more than Part 2 did.

Briony is certainly morally ambiguous. I start to like her again, until I realize it was all a lie. Her cowardly ways cost Cecilia and Robbie the chance to live a life of love together, while Lola and Paul live a long life and prosper. I realize she was scared of confrontation. I would have been too if I were in her situation, but she knew she had to facing the truth was the right thing to do. She just couldn't get past her selfish fears.

I almost refuse to believe that Robbie and Cecilia end so tragically. It hurts my heart. I hate how Briony lives on. It seems to not affect her as greatly as it should. Her actions are just like a bad taste in her mouth that she just covers up and moves on. It should have consumed her enough to do something about it! As bad as she may be, I believe Lola and Paul are worse. They knew exactly what they were doing, but it didn't matter. They lived on while the innocent die. It's mind blowing how one night can change so many people's lives forever.

Ian McEwan is an amazing writer. I love how his style of varying view points and his sophist philosphies. However, it really hurt me to read the last two pages. Even the last line, "But now I must sleep," makes me dislike Briony even more. It's like she's pushed that so far out of her mind that it doesn't even matter, when really, their tragic love story was completely her fault. I'm interested in seeing the rest of the movie and possibly reading more Ian McEwan in the future.