PROSE ATONEMENT (Ian McEwan) Comment on the ways in which McEwan strikingly presents this passage. Facing the altar, framed by the elevated white-sheeted shape of the vicar, stood the couple. She was in white, the full traditional wear, and, as far as Briony could tell from the rear, was heavily veiled. Her hair was gathered into a single childish plait that fell from under the froth of tulle and organdy and lay along the length of her spine. Marshall stood erect, the lines of his padded morning-suit shoulders etched sharply against the vicar’s surplice. “Thirdly, it was ordained for the mutual society, help and comfort, that the one ought to have of the other …” She felt the memories, the needling details, like a rash, like dirt on her skin: Lola coming to her room in tears, her chafed and bruised wrists, and the scratches on Lola’s shoulder and down Marshall’s face; Lola’s silence in the darkness at the lakeside as she let her earnest, ridiculous, oh so prim younger cousin, who couldn’t tell real life from the stories in her head, deliver the attacker into safety. Poor vain and vulnerable Lola with the pearl-studded choker and the rosewater scent, who longed to throw off the last restraints of childhood, who saved herself from humiliation by falling in love, or persuading herself she had, and who could not believe her luck when Briony insisted on doing the talking and blaming. And what luck that was for Lola— barely more than a child, prized open and taken—to marry her rapist. “… Therefore if any man can show any just cause, why they may not be lawfully joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter forever hold his peace.” Was it really happening? Was she really rising now, with weak legs and empty contracting stomach and stuttering heart, and moving along the pew to take her position in the centre of the aisle, and setting out her reasons, her just causes, in a defiant untrembling voice as she advanced in her cape and headdress, like a bride of Christ, toward the altar, toward the openmouthed vicar who had never before in his long career been interrupted, toward the congregation of twisted necks, and the halfturned white-faced couple? She had not planned it, but the question, which she had quite forgotten, from the Book of Common Prayer, was a provocation. And what were the impediments exactly? Now was her chance to proclaim in public all the private anguish and purge herself of all that she had done wrong. Before the altar of this most rational of churches. But the scratches and bruises were long healed, and all her own statements at the time were to the contrary. Nor did the bride appear to be a victim, and she had her parents’ consent. More than that, surely; a chocolate magnate, the creator of Amo. Aunt Hermione would be rubbing her hands. That Paul Marshall, Lola Quincey and she, Briony Tallis, had conspired with silence and falsehoods to send an innocent man to jail? But the words that had convicted him had been her very own, read out loud on her behalf in the Assize Court. The sentence had already been served. The debt was paid. The verdict stood. She remained in her seat with her accelerating heart and sweating palms, and humbly inclined her head. “I require and charge you both, as ye will answer at the dreadful day of judgement when the secrets of all hearts will be disclosed, that if either of you know of any impediment, why ye may not be lawfully joined together in matrimony, ye do now confess it.” By any estimate, it was a very long time until judgement day, and until then the truth that only Marshall and his bride knew at first hand was steadily being walled up within the mausoleum of their marriage. There it would lie secure in the darkness, long after anyone who cared was dead. Every word in the ceremony was another brick in place. “Who giveth this woman to be married to this man?” Birdlike Uncle Cecil stepped up smartly, no doubt anxious to be done with his duty before hurrying back to the sanctuary of All Souls, Oxford. Straining to hear any wavering doubt in their voices, Briony listened to Marshall, then Lola, repeating the words after the vicar. She was sweet and sure, while Marshall boomed, as though in defiance. How flagrantly, sensually, it reverberated before the altar when he said, “With my body I thee worship.” “Let us pray.” Then the seven outlined heads in the front pews drooped and the vicar removed his tortoiseshell glasses, lifted his chin and with eyes closed addressed the heavenly powers in his weary, sorrowful singsong. “O Eternal God, Creator and Preserver of all mankind, Giver of all spiritual grace, the Author of everlasting life: Send thy blessing upon these thy servants, this man and this woman …” The last brick was set in place as the vicar, having put his glasses back on, made the celebrated pronouncement—man and wife together—and invoked the Trinity after which his church was named. There were more prayers, a psalm, the Lord’s Prayer and another long one in which the falling tones of valediction gathered into a melancholy finality. “… Pour upon you the riches of his grace, sanctify and bless you, that ye may please him both in body and soul, and live together in holy love unto your lives’ end.” RESPONSE ESSAY Silence when injustices are done is the biggest offence one can commit and those who watch silently as the perpetrators of injustice walk free while innocent men are castigated, are worse than than the actual perpetrators. In this excerpt, Paul Marshall is marrying Lola whom he violated a few years earlier, and who knows that he is the offender and has not only kept quiet and watched an innocent Robbie go to jail but has now walked to the altar to commit the rest of her life to the villain who committed this heinous offence and stole her innocence. This highlights the lack of equality between Paul and Lola because of their difference in class and gender. McEwan strikingly presents this passage through the use of language [what kind of language? Identify]. A clear example of this is “Her hair was gathered into a single childish plait”, by the use of the phrase “single childish” the writer aims to highlight how young Lola was and how young she still is now. It also highlights the age difference between the bride and groom. Another example of this is how “Marshall stood erect” this shows how physical Marshall is towards Lola even in a church setting. The use of the last name shows the unfamiliarity and distance between them which is ironic because she’s marrying him. It also shows how Marshall is a static character whereas he was physical in the beginning and continues to be physical in the end . The theme loss of innocence is presented by the injustice for Lola and the devotion to even marry Marshall after he took her innocence presents how class and wealth yields influence and overshadows even the systems of justice. As if this is not bad enough, instead of Marshall paying for his crime he is gifted with the same girl he violated as a wife, committing to a lifetime together in the presence of God and man through an official wedding ceremony in church. By having this union solemnised in church the writer seems to point a finger at the flaws of the both social and justice systems which attempt to justify social evil to the extent of presenting it before God for endorsement. It is ironic then that the “couple” “facing the altar” suggests how unclean Marshall is and how he is standing by the most important place in the church knowing he violated his bride. The use of flashbacks presents the overflowing memories coming back to Lola this is seen through “Lola coming to her room in tears, her chafed and bruised wrists” this aims to highlight the trauma that is still not forgotten and prepares lola for what she is walking into. The reader can feel empathy for Lola because they can infer that the next years with Marshall will not be easy and Lola will be walking into a bigger prison than what the bondage of pain and guilt that she has lived in since the assault. The setting further enhances the sense of foreboding about the events to come along with this wedding. This is best demonstrated by “Facing the altar, framed by the elevated whitesheeted shape of the vicar, stood the couple. She was in white,”, a white dress represents virginity and chastity this is ironic because Lola’s innocence was taken by Marshall who she is marrying. The reader can infer that the writer purposely added that she was in white to note that it was not her choice to become unchaste. Briony is the embodiment of characters who remain silent while others are suffering by her knowing the events and even being the one who caused this wedding to happen in the first place. Another example of this is “Nor did the bride appear to be a victim, and she had her parents’ consent.”, this seems to further highlight the silence because her parents seem to be satisfied with the wedding not knowing what happened before. The concept of class seems to dominate once again through Aunt Hermione’s complacency, seen when, “Aunt Hermione would be rubbing her hands”, showing her joy and excitement that her daughter would be proud that she is marrying a man with a high status Paul Marshall is known to be of a high social status and heir to the chocolate factory proprietor. The varied sentence structures employed by the writer represent different emotions experienced by different people at this moment the writer's intention to send a very clear message leaving no doubt as to his intended meaning. The compound and complex sentence “......... She remained in her seat with her accelerating heart and sweating palms, and humbly inclined her head.”,emphasises how uncertain and caught up in mixed emotions Briony was witnessing the marriage and the flashbacks getting to her on how she could have avoided these events from happening. Concision and clarity is expressed in, “The sentence had already been served. The debt was paid. The verdict stood.” To highlight the terseness of the situation and send the writer’s intended meaning with a sense of finality and no room for speculation. Through this passage, McEwan successfully presents the ironies of life and the horrors of living in an unjust and oppressive society where the systems of justice have been compromised, a society where the truth is convoluted and never brought to life for fear of upsetting the rich while the innocent poor suffer. A society where moral decadence reigns supreme. Lastly this is the first time we learn that Briony has decided that Paul committed the assault. Until this point, we have probably believed that the scratches and bruises Lola revealed to Briony in her bedroom were inflicted by the twins, and the revelation that it was Paul Marshall is shocking. McEwan successfully presents this passage in which he touches on topics that are not spoken about through Lola, Briony and Paul. McEwan presents Lolas injustice through not adding her narrative in all of this. Briony's perspective is the one he presents, further emphasising the lack of justice in Lolas voice.
