Preview

Absolution Clare Wald Quotes

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
607 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Absolution Clare Wald Quotes
The title of the novel Absolution relates closely to the character of Clare Wald and this will be discussed with reference to Absolution as a whole.
A dictionary definition of the world ‘absolution’ states that it is a formal forgiveness of a person’s sins. In the novel, Absolution, the one character who is in constant seek for absolution is Clare Wald. Throughout the novel and as one begins to know more about the character of Clare, one sees her meaning and interpretation of absolution and witnesses her attempt to gain absolution in her actions and her encounters with other characters in the novel as well.
When first introduced to Sam, it is made aware that he has a clear memory of meeting with Clare before even though she does not remember.
…show more content…
Clare’s manner of speaking to Mark is barbed and impatient and any physical displays of affection are brief as having to endure “the demands and petulant whims of her son”. Eventually, Clare decides to confess and ultimately, confide within Mark about the death of her sister Nora and Nora’s husband Stephan. It is not clear at first if Clare comes to Mark as a son or as a lawyer because knowing that she wants absolution Mark, being family, is able to overlook the law and grant her actions as justice. Mark however tells Clare that she has “overplayed [her] role in history” and suggest she “do nothing else but get over it”. Mark is very formal which shows that he resentful and probably not the best person to seek absolution from.
Throughout the novel Clare attempts to gain absolution from the people she thinks she has done wrong, but what she does not realize is that she cannot get forgiveness from those who she has done wrong if she cannot forgive herself first. As she finally begins to admit her faults is when she ultimately gains the absolution she seeks for.
The title of the novel Absolution relates closely to the character of Clare Wald and this has been discussed with reference to Absolution as a

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Kent juxtaposes the prevailing societal perceptions of Agnes of a murderess with her internal voice and first person narration to challenge the misogynistic stereotype of clever women to evoke sympathy for her. The novel opens with Agnes’s voice.” those who are not dragged to their deaths cannot understand how the heart grows hard and sharp until it is a nest of rocks with only an empty egg in it.” that established her as a victim prompting empathy for her. By contrasting this with the perspective of society and associating society’s portrayal of Agnes as a murderess and a witch with Agnes’s dehumanization “I feel the same as when I was little and hungry, as though bones are growing larger in my body, as if my skeleton is about to shiver out of me.” Kent positions readers to question who the real monsters are. When at Kornsa even Toti and Margret are offended by the visible signs of abuse on Agnes and respond aggressively to her jailors. “Every time I said something they would change…

    • 1545 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Year of Wonders Study Notes

    • 16401 Words
    • 66 Pages

    ©2000-2007 BookRags, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The following sections of this BookRags Premium Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources. ©1998-2002; ©2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design® and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license. The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". © 1994-2005, by Walton Beacham. The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". © 1994-2005, by Walton Beacham. All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copywritten by BookRags, Inc. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, Web distribution or information storage retrieval systems without the written permission of the publisher.…

    • 16401 Words
    • 66 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    An unreliable perspective is used through the text, employing a narrative voice which results in ambiguity, leading the reader to think about the reality of the novel.…

    • 874 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The poem “Repentance” by Robert William Service demonstrates that asking for forgiveness is an act of improving one’s self and getting rid of his impurities. As a reader critic, I look at this poem and understand that there is a deeper meaning behind it. The literal meaning is that sins are forgiven and one can always repent. However, the deeper meaning behind it is, repentance means fixing one’s relationship with his fellow peers and resolving the conflicts between them.…

    • 79 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical Devices

    • 852 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “The very law that condemned her…had held her up, through the terrible ordeal of her ignominy.” (Pg. 66)…

    • 852 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Just As All Road Analysis

    • 1226 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Nevertheless, even though she has physically committed herself he is still mentally “suspended” and trapped between what she wants and who she is. As a result, she represses those thoughts from “r[ising] higher”. This is the pivotal point upon which she consigns herself to follow society’s expectations because she understands that without social rules and stigma, “the world would not exist” and be able to function properly. Her “answering point in…[her] body” instinctually gravitates “towards” following social norms because despite the struggle against it, everyone will eventually cave to the expectations of others. She has become “inflate[d]” by the “inrush” of the external pressures of being part of a society . She realizes that she is finally experiencing the typical emotions, even though she feels removed from the “smiles” and “what it is [supposed to feel like] to be happy”. In spite of that, she feels “doubleness” as if it is not really herself going through the motions – she doesn’t feel true to herself and who she really is but simply sees a reflection of her figure that she can no longer recognise. On her way “hurtling” down, she has flashes of her “own past” that “recede[s]” and she has to make a decision between the light of the “white sun” and the darkness of an endless “dark tunnel”. Ultimately, she focuses on the “bright point at the end” of the tunnel and becomes a small “pebble” in the “bottom of [a big] well”, which is an analogy to her small and insignificant self in a world filled with billions of people. Her metamorphosis is paralleled to that of a rebirth into her new life. She has chosen the light and she is being christened into her new life as an innocent “sweet baby” that is being reborn again from “it’s mother’s belly”. All throughout this process “Buddy” and the “other faces” of society watchfully gaze and “h[a]ng…

    • 1226 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sonya Semyonovna Marmeladov is a confounded young woman who can be characterized as morally ambiguous in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel, Crime and Punishment. Sonya is making decisions in life uncertain of whether they are right or wrong. She has been forced into prostitution for the betterment of her family, is being captivated by a killer, and is trying to maintain a relationship with God. Sonya battles with moral ambiguity throughout the novel, and because of this, her character plays a major role in Crime and Punishment and leaves an effect on many people in St. Petersburg.…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Although identities for vampires particularly in this novel are merged, what is interesting is the way the boundary between damnation and salvation is drawn. Louis is pre-occupied with his spiritual existence. He goes off to seek answers to his existence and how to put up with the new life he now has.…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The opinion of many Victorians did not support the way Jane acts in the novel. She is…

    • 5218 Words
    • 21 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    “She flung the tea back, spoon and all, and resumed her chair in a pet; her forehead corrugated, and her red under lip pushed out, like a child’s ready to cry.” P. 12…

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    done with the best of intentions, they exert their own wills upon eachother. She realized that although at times she had loved him, she has regained her freedom, a state of beeing that all of God's creatures…

    • 1785 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Best Essays

    The use of varied points of view, known as , free indirect discourse, or variable internal focalisation, omniscient narration is used in fiction to create particular themes in such books as the 'Atonement' by Ian McEwan, Jane Austen and many other authors. Using these styles has been spoken of as heightened literary skills which delivers to the reader what the author desires to reveal of their characters. It is an advanced and old style that can be used to bring forth the many perceptions created by the writer. This essay will discuss how point of view is used as a technique and thereupon the theme of atonement within free indirect style, variable internal focalisation and omniscient narration ultimately narrated by an aging Briony.…

    • 1732 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    People make mistakes. Some mistakes are minor, such as a child losing a new sweater at school. Others are major, such as driving drunk and killing someone. No matter the mistake, we expect an apology and the one the mistake is made to is expected to apologize. Yet, human nature makes it difficult to apologize or absolve others. Ian McEwan’s novel, Atonement, beautifully illustrates man’s desire and struggle for atonement and forgiveness. The characters in the novel all deal with their need to move forward from past pains in different ways. Through a series of paramount events, man’s desire for redemption and forgiveness shows itself in the actions and inner-desires of Briony, Robbie, and Cecilia.…

    • 1935 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    While the title of Ian McEwan’s novel is Atonement, atonement itself can not be the driving theme of this work. The fact that atonement is ever achieved or even sought out by Briony can be greatly debated. This is because of the effects abandonment, the true theme, has on her. Abandonment not only plays a driving role in Briony’s character but also greatly impacts every character in the novel. Although abandonment manifests itself in many different outlets depending on the character, it is the central theme behind all of the stories conflicts.…

    • 2013 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Novel

    • 3291 Words
    • 14 Pages

    Question: Write on the theme of ‘forgiveness’ that you find in the novel, ‘The Curse’.…

    • 3291 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Good Essays