"She wanted to comfort her sister, for Cecilia had always loved to cuddle the baby of the family..... She wanted to put her arm around Briony's shoulder now," (pg 41)
"Poor darling Briony, the softest little thing.... To love her was to be soothed." (pg 62)
"Cecilia should lend a hand, but she was too wrapped up in herself, too much the intellectual to bother with children... Emily successfully resisted the pursuit of this line...." (pg 63)
There seems to be some tension between Cecilia and Emily. Each seems to view the other as being unfit to raise children, yet both have shown a passion for babying Briony, the youngest of the family. They definitely have more in common than they think, and the parallels between them are quite striking. Both of them express numerous times how they enjoyed comforting Briony, and have shared their fears of her growing up and no longer needing them, while also offering harsh opinions about each other. I think their inability to relate has definitely put a strain on their relationship (even though there is a lot that they can relate to), and with Robbie's arrest, I'm interested to see how their relationship either develops or deteriorates (my prediction is that their future as mother and daughter is not so bright).
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