A Study Of Briony’s Trauma In Ian McEwan’s Atonement

Ian Russell McEwan is considered as one of the most influential British writers in the contemporary literary field for his subtle and delicate fictions and his novel Atonement is highly praised by scholars and readers worldwide.This study mainly focuses on Briony’s trauma in McEwan’s Atonement which is considered as one of his most accomplished novels and was nominated for several Booker Prizes and eventually won the W.H.Smith Literary Award.Many scholars have analyzed Atonement from the perspectives of narration and ethics but few of them focus on the trauma and healing of the protagonist Briony.Therefore,this paper,referring to the concepts of structural trauma and historical trauma of Dominic La Capra,combined with Judith Herman’s exploration of the stage of trauma recovery,interprets the trauma of the protagonist Briony in Atonement.The thesis first introduces Ian McEwan,the content of Atonement and the concepts of trauma theory.Through the introduction of trauma theory and the plot of the novel,the author analyzes the traumatic symptoms that occurred after Briony used perjury to frame Robbie in the early years,such as confusion about traumatic events,escape and flashbacks of traumatic memories.When Briony realized that her frame-up had caused irreparable damage to Robbie and Cecilia,Briony again experienced traumatic symptoms of self-abuse,schizobulia and guilt.Briony’s traumatic symptoms are related to many factors,such as social,family and personal.Finally,the author analyzes how Briony recovers from the trauma.Through the perfect ending of the fictional novel,Briony compensates for the damage she has caused to Robbie and Cecilia,and tries to redempt.Briony finally reconciled with herself,her family and her friends and thus walked out of the trauma.Although trauma is difficult to heal,the protagonist in McEwan’s work,while suffering from the trauma,is still actively seeking treatment and finally walk out of trauma.This makes Briony face up to traumatic events and traumatic symptoms,recognize and understand the trauma,and adopt a positive attitude and find a way to walk out of trauma.This paper has practical significance to help people who have suffered the same experiences to regain their confidence in life and enable them to face the world better.