This post includes a character analysis of Briony Tallis, the protagonist of Atonement (2007). Today’s opinion is solely based on the film, not the novel. Beware of spoilers.
In Atonement, Briony Tallis falsely accuses Robbie Turner of sexually assaulting her cousin Lola. The lie ended up ruining Robbie’s life, as the young man had to go to prison for a crime he did not commit. Not only that, because of the incident, Robbie and her older sister (Cecilia Tallis) were never able to be together again.
Note: For those who need a more in-depth analysis of the film, here is another article explaining what happened at the end of Atonement.
So who is Briony Tallis? A spoiled little brat? Or a very naive girl who didn’t know better? She might be a weird combination of both. That’s why it’s hard to tell whether Briony is truly sorry for what she did.
Briony Tallis – Character Analysis
Atonement presents Briony Tallis as someone who spends most of her time writing and imagining. As a young child, she commits a terrible mistake for which she has to atone for the rest of her life.
In terms of personality, Briony Tallis is naive, spoiled and somehow impulsive. She also has a strong sense of entitlement and morality. Often, Briony tends to create her own narrative of the events. Her skewed perception of reality is what makes Briony Tallis a very unreliable narrator in Atonement.
Briony Tallis committed a horrible mistake when she was thirteen years old. That doesn’t necessarily make her a bad person. But her sense of entitlement is definitely one of her ugliest traits. In a sense, people like Briony always think they are in the right and act like the world owes them something. Having said that, how can someone with that type of personality truly grasp the meaning of atonement?
Naivety
Can naivety and bad influences (Lola) excuse Briony Tallis’ actions? Although Briony was still a child, she was old enough to know better. Why didn’t she question the situation? Here’s the thing, Briony’s inflated ego blinded her from seeing the real truth.
At the time, Briony had so much contempt for Robbie that she let her own personal emotions blur the reality. Despite her young age, she should have questioned whether the real Robbie Turner would ever commit such heinous acts.
Morality and Entitlement
At an older age, Briony is aware that what she did was wrong. However, that’s not what upsets her the most. She is angry at herself. It all goes back to Briony making everything about herself.
You see, Briony only wants Cecilia to forgive her because she wants to lessen her guilt. Young Briony would often pride herself on doing the right thing. Therefore, when she told that awful lie and later realized that it was a mistake, that started to weigh heavily on her conscience.
When Briony wrote her final book, she gave a happy ending to Cecilia and Robbie’s story. But what’s the point? They are already dead. Having said that, that only goes to show Briony’s strong sense of entitlement. During her final speech, Briony was trying to convince the audience that she gave Cecilia and Robbie their happiness back. But did she, though?
Let’s not forget that Briony was the one who caused havoc in their lives with her reckless lie. The way Briony justifies herself only further proves how she still tricks her mind into believing that she’s in the right. Having said that, Briony hasn’t really changed at all. Old Briony is just a more sophisticated liar.
Briony’s entitled mindset extends not only to her writing but to her personal relationships too. She feels entitled to people’s admiration and love. For instance, when young Briony had a crush on Robbie, she thought the young man should be nice to her too, which he was.
However, Robbie Turner had every right to scold Briony when she pulled that foolish act at the lake. Sadly, that’s not how Briony read the situation. She just thought Robbie was being mean to her because he didn’t like her. What Briony didn’t know was that unlike creepy Paul, Robbie only had eyes for Cecilia, a grown woman.
After Robbie’s conviction, Cecilia made it very clear that she was never going to forgive Briony for what she did. Although it might sound harsh, her older sister had a point: you can’t destroy people’s lives, write a couple of apology letters and expect everything to resume to normal. That’s not how life works. That said, is it fair for Briony to never get a pardon from Robbie or Cecilia? Maybe.
Throughout the film, it’s clear that Briony tries to make amends with the past. First, she decides not to pursue a higher education, instead, she becomes a nurse as a way to repent for her “sin”. Second, Briony writes a tell-all book to clear Robbie’s name and expose those who omitted the truth. However, is that enough?
Well, Briony did give up something that she really wanted, but let’s not forget that her awful lie wrecked two people’s lives. A man went to jail for a crime he did not commit and her sister was never able to be together with the man she loved.
Is Briony Tallis the Villain in Atonement?
Although Briony Tallis has done a lot to repent for what she did, it’s not enough. The past is irreparable. That said, Briony is sort of the villain in Atonement. She ruined Robbie and Cecilia’s chances of living a happy life together.
Then, Briony still has the audacity to say to a wide audience that she gave them their “happiness back”. The number that she was trying to pull at the end has a name: it’s called “gaslighting”. Having said that, maybe Briony Tallis hasn’t really figured out what atonement really means.
