“She is also God”

The Violence of Godlike Girlhood in Ian McEwan’s Atonement

Abstract

The paper offers a close reading of Ian McEwan’s novel Atonement, through the lens of girlhood. Known for its twist which reveals one of the main characters, Briony Tallis, as being writer of the novel, Atonement calls attention to its own fictional nature, while simultaneously creating micro images of entering and controlling which form Briony as a godlike narrator who enacts violence on her creations. The paper analyzes these images and considers storytelling as a girlish act with the motif of intrusion. It relies on McEwan criticism and girlhood studies to make sense of the girl as menacing, central figure.