On the significance of the metafictional coda in Ian McEwan’s Atonement

【Abstract】Atonement is one of Ian McEwans most popular novels， and one marked feature is that it has a metafictional coda which turns the novel into metafiction and overturns the ending of its two protagonists， Robbie and Cecilia. It has been the central concern for many critics that whether the coda is indispensable in this book and what are its functions. This paper argues that the coda is not indispensable in terms of storytelling and moral， but significant in terms of characterization and provoking thought.

【Key words】Atonement; Ian McEwan; metafiction

【作者簡介】戚靖浩，上海外國語大學 國際教育學院。

1. Introduction

Atonement is a metafictional novel by Ian McEwan， which comprises three novellas and a coda. Set in three different historical periods， namely England in 1935， France and England in the Second World War， and England in 1999， Atonement begins with Briony Tallis， an upper-class little girl. She misunderstands Robbie， the Tallis family housekeepers son， to be a maniac and consequently identifies him mistakenly as a rapist. Her mistake ruins Robbies life as well as that of his girlfriend， Brionys older sister， Cecilia. Years later， Briony realizes her mistake and seeks to atone for it during the Second World War. She eventually visits Cecilia and Robbie with courage， apologies and starts her atonement by writing a statement to prove Robbies innocence. The three novellas end and then comes the coda， in which we know all the three novellas are all Brionys novel， which makes Atonement metafiction. And， more surprisingly， Briony reveals in the coda that Robbie and Cecilia have died in the war rather than have reunited and lived happily， as we previously read.

The metafictional coda can be considered as “one aspect of a twentieth century aesthetic revolution” （McEwan， “Atonement： A Conversation”）， which fits into the resurgence of Realism in contemporary British and American literature （Chen 92）. But in terms of storytelling， since the coda overturns the ending， it has brought some critics negative comments which consider it redundant， as well as the positive ones （Chen 92）. This paper will analyse why the coda is not indispensable but serves as a significant component for Atonement.

2. The Coda Is Not Indispensable

It is true that even without the coda， the three previous novellas have composed a complete story， and in this sense， the coda is not an indivisible part of Atonement. Readers will not have any problem understanding the story without the coda—though not the same story as with it. The end of Part Three indicates hope for Briony， Robbie and Cecilia： Briony has got the chance to make up for her colossal mistake， Robbie can see the hope of proving his innocence， and Cecilia and Robbie are facing an exciting prospect of getting married after so many tribulations. It is a complete open-ended story with a happy ending.

Briony herself has justified her concealment of the truth in coda after revealing the cruel truth that Robbie and Cecilia actually have died in war rather than have reunited， as she writes： “What sense or hope or satisfaction could a reader draw from such an account？ Who would want to believe that they never met again， never fulfilled their love？ … what really happened？ The answer is simple： the lovers survive and flourish” （371）. Brionys story gives readers a satisfying， or even “saccharine ending” （Behrman 467）. With Robbie and Cecilia having a rosy future， the story also offers enough moral： readers are infused with a touch of optimism that if they are brave enough to face their mistakes and take action， they can make up for them， and if they are wronged by others or are in adversity， they shouldnt give up hope and maybe one day everything will change for the better.

Therefore， the coda is not indispensable in the story. Even without the coda， readers will see a complete and meaningful story.

3. The Coda Is Significant

The coda is not indispensable， whereas it is not redundant. In fact， the coda was not created out of McEwans whim， but carefully planned at the beginning. As he says， “[b]y the time Id finished the second chapter， I had the entire novel in mind –… the three novellas and the coda. … I … knew … that the novel I was writing was written by Briony” （“Atonement： A Conversation”）. So， what are the purposes and functions of this arrangement？ the coda serves two functions for Atonement： it enriches the characters and provokes thought.

A. It Enriches the Characters

Lola， Brionys maternal cousin， appears as a victim in Part One for she was raped by Marshall， the true rapist. But years later， they get married， and in the coda， we learn that “the Marshalls have been active about the courts since the late forties， defending their good names with a most expensive ferocity” （McEwan， Atonement 370）. Here， Lola is no longer a victim， but an accomplice of Marshall. Lola is no less sinful than Briony since she does not want to make up for the mistake， which was caused by her husbands crime， and she sides with him to preclude Briony from revealing the truth. This also manifests Cecilia and Robbies misery as well as Brionys conscience.

B. It Provokes Thought

Robbie and Cecilias death leaves readers as well as Briony a question： how can she atone for her mistake if Cecilia and Robbie have died？ Her atonement can no longer be visiting Cecilia and retracting her evidence. Her answer is to write a novel to publish the truth and immortalize them， which seems to be one of the few things she can do. Her novel is an attempt to reveal the truth， to express her remorse， and to warn her readers against using imagination to interpret baffling events， and to remind them to make up for their mistakes as soon as they realize them.

But still， there remains a problem： “how can a novelist achieve atonement when， with her absolute power of deciding outcomes， she is also God？ There is no one， no entity or higher form that she can appeal to， or be reconciled with， or that can forgive her. … It was always an impossible task， and that was precisely the point” （McEwan， Atonement 371）. Briony can write a novel to publish the truth and confess her mistake， taking it as a way to atone， but she cannot really achieve atonement. No matter what she does， the tragedy has already happened， Robbies life and consequently Cecilias life have been completely changed， and most importantly， have ended. Now that there is no way to change their life， how can she achieve atonement？ It is a thought-provoking question for all readers. Probably， when life is so cruel， “[t]he attempt was all” （McEwan， Atonement 371）.

4. Conclusion

The coda of Atonement has its duality. On the one hand， it is not an indivisible part because McEwan has provided readers with a complete story with enough morals before the coda. But on the other hand， the coda is significant because it enriches the characters， namely Lolas sinfulness， and Brionys remorse and growing up， and it provokes thought of how Briony can really achieve atonement. Therefore， the coda is not indispensable， but it perfects Atonement as a significant component.

References：

[1]Behrman， Mary. The Waiting Game： Medieval Allusions and the Lethal Nature of Passivity in Ian McEwans Atonement[J]. Studies in the Novel，vol.42 no.4，2010：453-470.

[2]Chen Rong. Historical Novel and Its Metafictional Ending： Reading Ian McEwans Atonement[J]. Foreign Literature，no.1，2008：91-98.