Lola Quincey

Outer characterization

In the novel Atonement by Ian McEwan, Lola Quincey is Briony’s fifteen-year-old cousin. She and her two younger brothers, Jackson and Pierrot, come to stay with the Tallises for an undetermined period of time while their parents go through a divorce. She has ginger hair and freckles, “green eyes and sharp bones in her face, and hollow cheeks” (Chapter 1, 50%). She later marries Paul Marshall and becomes a rich and famous woman.

Inner characterization

Lola wishes to be seen as a grown-up

Unlike Briony, who is still a child in many ways, Lola does her best to appear mature. She first achieves this through the way she presents herself in terms of her appearance. Briony notes that Lola looks “perfectly composed, having liberally applied perfume and changed into a green gingham frock to offset her colouring. Her sandals revealed an ankle bracelet and toenails painted vermilion” (Chapter 1, 57%). This shows that Lola takes great care of how she presents herself to the world in order to influence how people might perceive her. 

Lola also declares her maturity over Briony and her younger brothers through the way she...