Memory and the past

The novel Atonement by Ian McEwan also explores the theme of memories and the past, particularly in relation to how they can influence the present. 

One way in which the theme is explored is through several characters’ realizations that the past cannot be changed and it is ineffective to try, sometimes even when it comes to recent events. For example, when Cecilia finds out Robbie has been invited to the family dinner, she is initially angry and demands that Leon takes back his invitation. She soon realizes that this would be impossible and it is pointless for her to be angry: 

There was nothing she could do, nothing she could make Leon do, and she suddenly realised the pointlessness of the argument. […] it had happened a long time ago, and all outcomes, on all scal...