How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
How can you possibly think me innocent? Don't let my face fool you; it tells the worst lies. A girl can have the face of an angel but have a horrid sort of heart. (1.4)
Nice to meet you, Briony—it's not common to introduce yourself by trying to convince us that you're guilty and not to be trusted, but at least we know right away that our main girl is carrying a lot of guilt in her heart.
Quote #2
I was obliged to stay in the Swampsea to care for Stepmother. Rose and Stepmother. And the worst of it is that I have only myself to blame. (3.38)
And so the blame game begins. Early on we learn that Briony blames herself for most of her family's troubles as well as for her own unhappiness—but by blaming herself, she does not leave room to consider other influences on her life and her circumstances.
Quote #3
I'm the one who should apologize. I don't exactly blame myself for Stepmother's death. I didn't feed her arsenic, and it was arsenic that killed her. But I did cause her to injure her spine. She might have died from that if the arsenic hadn't gotten to her first. (3.44)
Wow—Briony really is carrying a ton of guilt and blame. Guess she wouldn't have a lot of room left to think about boys and clothes and other girly things. How would you handle all this guilt?
Quote #4
When you hate yourself, you don't neglect your responsibilities. When you hate yourself, you never forget what you did. (3.112)
These could be lyrics for a pretty good teen angst song. Using guilt and self-hatred, Briony constantly reminds herself to be responsible and take care of Rose—so this self-hatred serves a purpose, though it also keeps Briony from seeing any positives in herself.
Quote #5
I lay in bed, listening to Rose cough. It was a wet, skin-scraping cough, very different from her earlier cough. Rose had never had the swamp cough. I was a fool. (9.98)
Briony's guilt causes her to take matters into her own hands, and because she feels she alone is to blame, she does not turn to anyone else for help. Unfortunately, this leads her to causing Rose real harm. And then, realizing she is to blame for her sister's deadly sickness, Briony feels even guiltier than she did before.
Quote #6
They'd throw stones at me, too, once I was in jail. But at least I was a witch and deserved it. (10.49)
Briony continually reiterates her feelings of guilt as well as the negative fate she feels she deserves because of it. Has she ever heard of positive self-thoughts?
Quote #7
A witch does not make a good friend. Let's remind ourselves how this particular witch works:
She is near a person, she is jealous of that person, that person falls from a swing and bashes her head. The witch meets a person on Blackberry Night. There ensues a shriveled-pea of a situation, and that person falls ill. (22.65-67)
Briony replays the various things for which she feels guilty and worthy of blame, and this serves to keep Briony from truly getting close to others. Sorry Rose, Dad, and Eldric—this seat's saved for guilt.
Quote #8
I only wished I could tell Eldric that what he wanted was to watch out for me. (22.293)
Briony is not ultimately to blame for Eldric's sickness, but she has become accustomed to blaming herself for any harm that comes to those she loves. Yet another stumbling block in their love story…
Quote #9
It's one thing if a person learns you're a witch. It's quite another if he learns you're a murderer. I almost forget I'm a witch now that I know I'm a murderer—murderess, actually. Murderess sounds so much worse. (31.7)
After learning she has poisoned her stepmother (brief break for cheering), Briony adds another fact to her long list of reasons to feel guilty. This new revelation actually overshadows the other things she has felt guilty for.
Quote #10
I am stomping out new memory paths. It is difficult. There are too many I am wicked paths crossing and crisscrossing my memory. I don't believe the nice things I say to myself. (32.1-2)
The guilt and blame that Briony has carried with her for years makes it difficult for her to believe anything positive about herself, which shows the immense and potentially damaging power of these feelings.