Atonement

Briony is now 77 years old. On her 77th birthday, she makes “one last visit to the Imperial War Museum” in London (213). The previous day, a doctor revealed that she is suffering from vascular dementia and will soon begin to lose her memories. She arrives at the museum, and as she enters, she sees Lola and Paul. They are now a rich, famous couple known as the Marshalls. As well as their charity work, they are known to have sued a number of newspapers for libel. Briony thinks about their age. She knows that “publication equals litigation” (216); if she publishes her novel while they are still alive, they can sue her for libel. While they are old, they are healthy, and there is no indication that they will die soon. This places the publication of Briony’s novel in jeopardy. Briony has donated a number of letters and documents from her personal records to the museum. She submits another batch from Corporal Nettle, in which he describes events at Dunkirk. In exchange, she receives notes and suggestions from a historian at the museum on her novel.

After the diagnosis, Briony returns home. She thinks about her deceased husband, Thierry, as she prepares for a birthday party being held that evening in her honor.