Metafictional Treatment of Family Dysfunction, Guilt and Forgiveness in Atonement

Abstract

Metafiction is a literary device used when the author of a work of fiction wants to call attention to the fact that what has been written has been fabricated. In McEwan's Atonement, metafiction is used when the author gives the impression that one of his fictional characters is the actual author of this piece of fiction. Through this device, McEwan questions the relationship between fiction and reality. McEwan wants the reader to be aware of how unreliable the fictional world is. When McEwan has Briony take over authorship of the novel and then also creates a scene in which she discusses various endings that she might have used, he emphasizes how uncertain language can be in representing the world. In other words, McEwan, through metafiction, demonstrates how easily words can change the world that is being described.