Other characters

Leon Tallis

Leon Tallis is Briony and Cecilia’s older brother in the novel Atonement by Ian McEwan. He is twenty-five years old and works in the banking industry. He spends his time at a rowing club on the weekend. 

Leon briefly returns to his family home for the summer, and his family is excited to see him: Briony writes and stages a play for him, and Cecilia convinces the cook to make his favorite meal. This shows that he is loved by his siblings. He also invites Cecilia to stay with him in London while she figures out what she wants to do with her life which shows he is generous and kind (Chapter 9, 88%). 

Leon is a kind but bland and unambitious man. Leon’s mother describes him as “sweet-natured and content and surrounded by successful friends. Too handsome, too popular, no sting of unhappiness and ambition” (Chapter 6, 13%). Cecilia also believes him to be over-trusting and says he thinks no one is ever “mean-spirited, no one schemed or lied or betrayed. […] Everyone was, at a minimal estimate, ‘a good egg’ or ‘a decent sort’, and motivation was never judged to be at variance with outward show.” (Chapter 9, 69%). 

This explains why Leon so readily believes Briony’s accusation of Robbie even though he has known Robbie his entire life, and he does not question whether the attacker could have been someone else. Cecilia resents this and calls him a “grinning spineless idiot who went along with everyone else” (Part II, 24%), and the relationship between Leon and Cecilia deteriorates. 

In old age, Briony admires the way Leon “heroically nursed his wife, and then raised his boisterous children” (London, 1999, 11%) which shows he becomes a devoted family man. He marries four times and has many children. In the final chapter, Leon is 89 years old and in a wheelchair.

Emily Tallis

Emily Tallis is Briony’s mother. She is forty-six and has three children. She and her husband have a rocky marriage, as he is having an affair which Emily knows about but pretends to ignore, telling herself that “he must care about h...