Oct. 26th

In the story, atonement is a fluid concept. You can assume that just about every character is in search of some sort of atonement. The main one in search being Brioney of course; for her wrongful accusation against Robbie. In her search for an atonement of some sort, she never finds any tangible form. So she takes her search to another level by writing her own short story. In this case, there is no better atonement than the one you create for yourself. In her actual life, she could have done more to make right the wrongs she created. But since she did not, her story had to make due. In the story she was able to create her own alternate ending to the lives she plagued. With the setting of the book taking place around WWII, it allowed her to do something to feel like she gave back to the people. By her being a nurse, it was her way of doing a good deed for the rest of her life; while the people who's lives she messed up live in turmoil.