Lola holds the secret that it was really Paul Marshall who took control over her, not Robbie. "Lola. Who was it? .. It was Robbie, wasn't it?" - Briony "Because I couldn't say for sure. I mean, I thought it might be him by his voice."- Lola. (pages 155-157) Although it was only a small secret, it only benefits Lola and she harms Robbie by having him sent to jail when he did nothing wrong. Lola ends up marrying Paul Marshall a few years later after all of this has happened.
This secret is similar to Cecilia's love for Robbie. They are both relationship related. Cecilia's love for Robbie does not really harm anyone except for Cecilia leaving home when she is older. Briony also thought Robbie was hurting Cecilia in the library, but it was really where they started their relationship and continued to build off of it ever since. They ended up very happy together after being away from each other for so long all because of Lola's wrongdoing.
The secret is significant to understand the rest of the narrative because it is what helps hold the story together. Lola is disliked throughout the novel since she lied about the incident with Robbie and how he was sent to jail for no reason. She is only protecting Paul Marshall since he was so much older than her and since she apparently loved him. As a reader, I feel sorry for Cecilia that she had to deal with being apart from Robbie for so long when he was her true love.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
I agree with Liz that the character Lola was evil and that her secret had been affects on other people’s lives. Her keeping her relationship with Paul secret led to Cecila and Robbie hating Briony, Robbie going to jail, and Cecila and Robbie to never be together. This secret helps the reader realize how the play The Trails of Arabella is the same as the novel Atonement. There has to be a evil character and both the play and the novel. Lola was the one to fit the role and without her none of it would have ever happened.
I agree with the author of this post with regards to the narrative significance of the secret about who was Lola's "attacker." If it were not for the ambiguity of in this incident, Briony would never have had the opportunity to indict Robbie and would therefore have no reason to write the entire novel in atonement for the events that followed Lola's "attack."
I also agree with Liz that Lola's secret against Robbie is extremely significant. It is a vital turning point in many of the lives of the charactes - Lola, Cecilia, Robbie, Briony, Paul Marshall, etc. I don't agree, however, that Lola is disliked throughout the novel, however, because it is Briony that makes the statement and Briony that convinces everyone it was Robbie. Therefore, I feel that Briony is the one hated, by Robbie and Cecilia, more throughout.
I agree that Lola's secret about who really raped her is significant to understanding the story. This secret gives you a understanding of some of the characters. It shows that Lola really must have loved Paul because she protected him by lying for him. I dont think this secret made anyone hate Lola, I think Robbie only hated Briony for it. Robbie yells at Briony about how she ruined his life. This secret also affected Cecila because she lost Robbie cause of it.
I agree with the author about the fact that this secret is significant. It affects the lives of all the characters, and its basically the catalyst for it. It also sets the tone for briony in the rest of the novel. Also sets up the fact that the play briony wrote in the beginning of the novel is the same as the story atonement, which kind of blows the readers mind when this is realized in the end.
I agree with Liz in the fact that this secret is very significant however, I dont agree with Lola being disliked throughout the novel because we are never told until later in the story that it was Paul Marshall and not Robbie. I, if anything, disliked Briony for not making an attempt to fix her mistake.
I agree with Liz, Lola really does ruin the love life of her sister Cecilia. Lola lies about the attack, corrupting Cecilia and Robbie's lives, in which in the end, you find out they never see each other again. The story is truly written out of guilt. These secrets that started to unwind in the end, makes you realize that Lola isn't a very good character, neither is Briony.
Post a Comment