Robbie was falsely accused and imprisoned and Cecilia completely abandoned the family to prove her lasting love for him. After three years, Robbie leaves prison to join the army and clear himself of the crime he never committed. Briony does not go to Cambridge but instead becomes a humble, anonymous nurse performing monotonous tasks like cleaning bedpans and tidying wards under the direction of a tyrannical nurse. Once the war closes in on London, she is found caring for Robbie vicariously through anonymous soldiers hospitalized daily, mutilated and dying. She does penance but curiously she never asks forgiveness from those she loves who could grant it to her, Cecilia and Robbie. She continues in this state to move passively through life, unable to forgive herself but also unable to ask for forgiveness. When we see Briony as an older woman, it seems like she has regained her status. She lives in a beautiful apartment, she is no longer an anonymous nurse but an accomplished writer and is both married and widowed. She is still stru...