Chapter summaries

Part I

Chapter 1

The novel Atonement by Ian McEwan begins in the summer of 1935 at the Tallis family’s estate in England. Thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis is preparing the production of a play she has written called The Trials of Arabella. Briony hopes that the play will impress her family, especially her older brother Leon whose return prompted her to write it. 

Briony’s cousins, Lola, Pierrot, and Jackson Quincey, will be staying with the Tallises for an undetermined period as their parents are going through a divorce. When they arrive, Briony immediately tells them the rehearsal schedule for her play, assuming they will want to take part. 

When it comes to casting the roles, Lola implies that Briony will want the lead role because she wrote the play. While Briony does want to play the role of Arabella, she feels she cannot admit it to Lola now. Disappointed, she reluctantly lets Lola have the role. 

Chapter 2

Briony’s older sister, Cecilia, wanders around the estate and observes Robbie Turner, an old family friend and former university colleague who is working as a gardener. She feels awkward around him and believes she must resolve the tension between them before she leaves her family home for good. 

Cecilia arranges some flowers in a vase that is a family heirloom. She decides to fill the vase with water from the fountain outside. She passes by Robbie and asks him for a cigarette. Their conversation is awkward, and Cecilia wonders why Robbie is acting so distant with her. When she asks Robbie about his decision to pursue another degree in medicine, Robbie believes she is alluding to the fact that Cecilia’s father pays for Robbie’s education, and he becomes defensive. 

Cecilia leans over the fountain to fill the vase with water, and Robbie grabs the vase trying to help her. When neither of them lets go of the vase, they accidentally break a piece of it which falls into the water. Cecilia snaps at Robbie and, determined not to let him help, undresses and dives into the fountain to retrieve the broken pieces. She ignores Robbie and returns to the house. 

Chapter 3

Briony is upset that rehearsals for her play are not going according to plan. Jackson, distressed at being away from home, wet himself during the night and was forced to wash his sheets and pajamas, which took a long time. She also feels that Lola is acting condescendingly towards her. 

While looking out the window, Briony thinks about how complex human beings are and how they all have rich internal worlds. Suddenly, she sees Robbie and Cecilia at the fountain and thinks they have stiff, formal postures as if Robbie is about to propose. She sees Robbie raise his hand as if commanding Cecilia and then witnesses Cecilia undressing to her underwear and diving into the fountain. Briony tries to make sense of the scene and compares it to a fairy tale where the prince jumps in to rescue...