"So, my sister and Robbie were never able to have the time to..." — Christopher Hampton

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So, my sister and Robbie were never able to have the time together they both so longed for... and deserved. Which ever since I've... ever since I've always felt I prevented. But what sense of hope or satisfaction could a reader derive from an ending like that? So in the book, I wanted to give Robbie and Cecilia what they lost out on in life. I'd like to think this isn't weakness or... evasion... but a final act of kindness. I gave them their happiness.

— Christopher Hampton, Briony Tallis (Age 77), and Vanessa Redgrave

Atonement

Weakness Happiness Missed Opportunities

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Now go and wash the blood off your face.

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[Robbie has just broken a vase belonging to Cecilia's family] Cecilia Tallis: You idiot...…

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Dear Cecilia, Please don't throw this away without reading it. As you'll have seen from…

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I won't say a word. Wake me before 7:00, would you? Thanks so much. You won't hear another…

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