Chapter 21
Summary:
The chapter opens in a hospital setting and you learn that Briony has become a nurse at the hospital during the war. Sister Marjorie Drummond is the head nurse and everyone is scared of her. Briony recounts details and rules of her work and tells the story of Nurse Langland who told a patient her real (Christian) name and was punished greatly for it. The wards are described along with the work that they did daily. They seem to be preparing the wards for something and an army general visits the hospital. Fiona slept in the bed next to Briony and although she reminded her of Lola in appearance she was different in personality; Briony considers her a friend of sorts. Fiona and Sister Drummond were the only two people Briony trusted at the hospital. She describes the studies that they had to take and said that it made making friends difficult because of the lack of free time. Briony decided to become a nurse because she wanted to join the war effort. Briony gives an account of all she had to do during training; blanket-baths, emptying bedpans, learning to obey without thinking, and the shoes that were too small and uniform that was uncomfortable. As Briony reflects before falling asleep she thinks of the life she would have had if she had gone to Cambridge instead of nursing. As a nurse she was just another in the crowd who did menial tasks which required no intellect. The chapter ends with Briony looking across the river and the city and remembering that nothing can stop the ‘darkness’.
Analysis
A part of the chapter has a hint of a coming doom that no-one can mention. Briony repeatedly talked about how patients were being moved out, new beds being brought in, large amounts of morphine being stored and many other changes that suggested that the hospital was being preparing for something big. This being World War two but war was only mentioned once and that was when Briony mentioned that war was declared a year earlier as the reason for some major changes for the hospital, like surgery moving to the basement and windows being sandbagged.
The rest of the chapter Briony talked about life as a nurse. She believed that the nurses and probationers (nurses in training) are being made into mindless puppets that do what they are told to the letter. Briony also talks about the hardship of making new friends and that “she herself was a barrier to friendship”. Both of these things could be alluding to her social class. She being a barrier could be referring to the fact she comes from a high income family isolated from the world. So she isn’t used to communicating with others let alone connecting with them creating the social barrier for her. Even her friendship Fiona; who she compared to Lola because they looked alike, was only there because of its convenience for the both of them.
A good thing to take note of is the last two sentence of the chapter where she says (basically) that darkness overwhelms her. This could be seen as her conscience ‘attacking’ her in those silent moments before she falls asleep about her crime. In other words it is the first time we see her seeking for atonement and not the last. It is also interesting that she mentions Sister Drummond in this which shows how much Sister Drummond has affect Briony in her new life.
- Great point about her search for atonement. You might spend a little more time here. Otherwise, both the summary and analysis are great.
The chapter opens in a hospital setting and you learn that Briony has become a nurse at the hospital during the war. Sister Marjorie Drummond is the head nurse and everyone is scared of her. Briony recounts details and rules of her work and tells the story of Nurse Langland who told a patient her real (Christian) name and was punished greatly for it. The wards are described along with the work that they did daily. They seem to be preparing the wards for something and an army general visits the hospital. Fiona slept in the bed next to Briony and although she reminded her of Lola in appearance she was different in personality; Briony considers her a friend of sorts. Fiona and Sister Drummond were the only two people Briony trusted at the hospital. She describes the studies that they had to take and said that it made making friends difficult because of the lack of free time. Briony decided to become a nurse because she wanted to join the war effort. Briony gives an account of all she had to do during training; blanket-baths, emptying bedpans, learning to obey without thinking, and the shoes that were too small and uniform that was uncomfortable. As Briony reflects before falling asleep she thinks of the life she would have had if she had gone to Cambridge instead of nursing. As a nurse she was just another in the crowd who did menial tasks which required no intellect. The chapter ends with Briony looking across the river and the city and remembering that nothing can stop the ‘darkness’.
Analysis
A part of the chapter has a hint of a coming doom that no-one can mention. Briony repeatedly talked about how patients were being moved out, new beds being brought in, large amounts of morphine being stored and many other changes that suggested that the hospital was being preparing for something big. This being World War two but war was only mentioned once and that was when Briony mentioned that war was declared a year earlier as the reason for some major changes for the hospital, like surgery moving to the basement and windows being sandbagged.
The rest of the chapter Briony talked about life as a nurse. She believed that the nurses and probationers (nurses in training) are being made into mindless puppets that do what they are told to the letter. Briony also talks about the hardship of making new friends and that “she herself was a barrier to friendship”. Both of these things could be alluding to her social class. She being a barrier could be referring to the fact she comes from a high income family isolated from the world. So she isn’t used to communicating with others let alone connecting with them creating the social barrier for her. Even her friendship Fiona; who she compared to Lola because they looked alike, was only there because of its convenience for the both of them.
A good thing to take note of is the last two sentence of the chapter where she says (basically) that darkness overwhelms her. This could be seen as her conscience ‘attacking’ her in those silent moments before she falls asleep about her crime. In other words it is the first time we see her seeking for atonement and not the last. It is also interesting that she mentions Sister Drummond in this which shows how much Sister Drummond has affect Briony in her new life.
- Great point about her search for atonement. You might spend a little more time here. Otherwise, both the summary and analysis are great.