Briony's Final Novel 'Atonement'

The final section of the novel is revealed to be written by an elderly Briony Tallis, now a successful novelist. She is suffering from vascular dementia and knows she is losing her mind. She reflects on her life's work, particularly her last novel, which is the story we have just read. She admits that she has altered the ending: in reality, Robbie died of septicemia at Dunkirk, and Cecilia was killed in the Blitz. They never reunited. Briony has given them a happy ending in her fiction as a final act of kindness, a 'stand against oblivion and despair.' She acknowledges that true atonement is impossible for a novelist, who has the power of a god over her characters. The attempt, however, was all. This revelation transforms the entire novel, forcing the reader to reconsider everything they have read.