Emily Tallis: Mother of Briony, Cecilia, and Leon, and the wife to Jack Tallis.
She is distant from her family due to her chronic headaches and basically has the staff run the entire the house. He husband is never around as he dedicated himself to his work. Due to the fact she was home school until she was 16, then went to Switzerland for boarding school, her views about woman and class in society is very traditional. Even though she is distant from her family, she does have a special maternal instinct for her youngest daughter, Briony and a sense for the goings on in the house
Briony Tallis: Briony is the main character of the book. She is the author of this book, which is reveled at the end of the book. Early on, she discovers a love for writing and secrets. Through her play, “The Trials of Arabella”, the reader can see that she has vivid imagination. She lives in her own world and gets upset when her expectations are not met. By bearing witness to private events of her sister, Cecilia, and the son of their charlady, Robbie, she misinterprets the intentions of their adult behavior. This causes her to start a chain of events that will have long lasting effects on the people in her life. Robbie is sent to jail as Briony wrongly accuses him for raping Lola, Cecilia leaves her family because of this, and they never reunite in real life. Her first attempt at atonement was working at a nurse in London during World War II. Briony then spends the rest of her life writing about the life of Robbie and Cecilia that they never got. At the end of the book, besides realizing that Briony is the author, she finds out that she has vascular dementia and she is being celebrated by her family for all her success as an author.
Robbie Turner: Robbie is the son of the Tallis family’s charlady, Grace Turner, whose education is being payed for by Mr. Tallis. After Briony wrongly sends him to jail for raping Lola, he enlists in World War II in order to reduce his sentence. Robbie and Cecilia kept their love alive through letters referencing books they both read. The middle of the book follows Robbie on his way towards Dunkirk with two corporals names Nettle and Mace. He has an injury where shrapnel is lodged into his stomach after a bombing. Robbie reaches Dunkirk and the next time we see him is with Cecilia in her flat when Briony visits to seek atonement. Robbie lashes out at Briony, refuses to forgive her, and demands she tries to clear his name. In the end, it is revealed he died on the last day of the Dunkirk retreat.
Cecilia Tallis: She is Briony’s older sister and suffers because of her misguided perceptions of the adult world. She is the opposite of her sister, as she is described as untidy and unorganized. We also learn she has a maternal love for her little sister Briony and loves how imaginative and childish she is. During the summer home from Cambridge, she craves for something exciting to happen. While Cecilia and Robbie did not befriend each other in college, due to the separation of social class, but discovers his love for her through a raunchy letter he wrote for her and returns the affection. Cecilia is the only one to stand by Robbie when he is sent to jail. Cecilia leaves her family after this and studies to become a nurse in London and writes love letters to Robbie during his time in jail and overseas. We see her again in her flat with Robbie when Briony went to seek atonement. She also does not forgive Briony for her crime, but demands that she tries to fix her mistakes. The reader learns that she actually was killed during a bombing in London.
Jack Tallis: He is the father of the household who decides to stay in London for his work more than at his own home with his family. He is seen as generous through the way he treats his staff, but it is also alluding that he is cheating on his wife with another woman. When Briony accuses Robbie of raping Lola, he stands by her accusation and disowns the Turner family.
Leon Tallis: He is the eldest child of the three Tallis children. He is a 1930s playboy who enjoys his freedom due to his social class. Leon could work with his father but prefers his carefree life. Leon is returning home with his friend, Paul Marshall, to visit his family. He and Cecilia have a very close bond, and he is the role model of Briony. At the end of the novel, Leon is still alive, but very old. He had four marriages, raised a number of children, but is still viewed as likeable.
Jackson and Pierrot Quincey: These are the younger twin cousins of the Tallis family. They are nine years old and are staying at with the Tallis family for the summer through their parents’ divorce. They feel lost during their stay. They are forced to be in Briony’s play, they are first disagreeable bit then they want to participate because the play is the only good thing about their stay. Being gingered and freckled just like their sister, Lola, they terrorize her because they think it is her fault that they are stuck at the Tallis house. During dinner, the twins learn that the play has been canceled and decide to run away. This triggered panic and a search party for the boys which leads to the rape of Lola. The boys are found alive and dirty by Robbie Turner. In the end of the book, Pierrot is at the party for Briony, but Jackson had already died.
Lola Quincey: She is the eldest sibling of the cousins and spend the summer at the Tallis house due to her parents’ divorce. She is 15, two years older than Briony, which makes Briony dislike her from the beginning die to the fact she was already of age. She manipulates Briony into letting her be Arabella in her play by using her predicament to her advantage. Lola is raped by Paul Marshall, but due to the fact he covered her face and Briony’s imagination, Robbie ends up being arrested for his crime. Lola does not believe it was Robbie, but never voices who she thinks raped her. Lola later marries Paul, which means she cannot testify against him in court and makes it impossible to clear Robbie’s name. Briony’s final words about her is that she is going to outlive her, never seeming sorry about the fact she married her rapist.
Danny and Mr. Hardman: The Hardman’s are workers on the Tallis estate. Cecilia is convinced that Danny Hardman is the one who raped Lola, but Mr. Hardman was already dead at the time of the argument.
Grace Turner: Grace is Robbie Turner’s mother and a charlady for the Tallis household. Grace was married to Ernest Turner, but he left when Robbie was six for no reason. Jack Tallis hires her, so she can provide for her family. When she discovers that her son is being blamed for the rape of Lola, she is fuming and stands by his innocence.
Fiona: She is the only friend that Briony makes during her training as a nurse. They are the only way of escape for each other during the horrors in the hospital, but are always snapped back into reality when the soldiers come in.
Paul Marshall: He is Leon’s rich friend who joins him on his trip home. Paul acts like a snob and pretentious man and basically is wishing for the war so his chocolate business can boom. At first, there are subtle hints that Paul has his eyes on Lola. Briony sees heavy bruising on Lola’s arm and a scratch on Paul’s face. When she finds Lola, she has many clues to believe it was Paul. Paul is not accused, and Robbie is instead arrested. Paul is gets rich off his chocolate business and marries Lola. The last we see of him is when he is a very old and rich man.
Sis Drummond: She is the head nurse at the London hospital where Briony starts her training. She is a vicious ruler who demands order and discipline and is feared by most of the staff.
Corporal Nettle: One of the two men traveling to France with Robbie Turner. Corporal Nettle trusts Turner, even though his affection is represented through insults. Even though he does not like following s solider of lower status and often makes fun of him, he still sticks close to him and respecting him as he realizes Turner the only way he will get out of the war alive. Nettle does his best to look out for Robbie after they are separated from Mace, nursing him and feeding him, but in the end, Robbie died before they can retreat. At the end of the book, Briony reveals to the reader that it was Corporal Nettle whom she talked to via letter to learn all about Robbie’s last days in the war.
Corporal Mace: Corporal Mace is the third soldier marching with Turner and Nettle towards Dunkirk. Very similar to Nettle, Mace does not like how he is following someone inferior in rank but resecting him and keeping close anyways. The last time we see of him is saving a countryman from a mob in a bar by pretending to drown him. We never see him again.