July 18, 2011
Page 106
"The very complexity of her feelings confirmed Briony in her view that she was entering an arena of adult emotion and dissembling from which her writing was bound to benefit. What fairy tale ever had so much by way of contradiction?"
This passage is the result of Briony reading the note Robbie wrote to Cecilia. this is the moment when Briony loses her innocence. It showed she was moving into grown-up things that she couldn't understand. Briony misinterpreted the note due to immaturity and not understanding this new world of adulthood she was entering. Of course, the narrator (Briony) only notices the possible change in writing. Her lifelong goal is to become a great writer, and now she believed she can benefit from this and create a story involving the romance of Robbie and Cecilia.
Yes, Briony reached adulthood from this quote but she is a storyteller. She has made up lies throughout the entire book. Therefore she is used to writing happy endings like "fairy tales" because she can make up whatever she want. So is it justified? I don't think so, but from the narrators point of view she feels justified by giving Cecilia and Robbie a happy ending.
As someone who has no secrets and is a little detached from the real world doesn't it almost seem like the author is laying it on a little thick here? Isn't it almost the perfect scenario to reach a fake ending?
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