Paul marshall commentary essay

Paul Marshall sat back in the armchair, watching her closely over the steeple he made with his hands in front of his face. He crossed and uncrossed his legs. Then he took a deep breath. ‘Bite it,’ he said softly. ‘You’ve got to bite it.’

His family company manufactures Amo bars. When he visits the Tallis family at the beginning of the book, the family initially imagines that he might be a good match for Cecilia. She is uninterested in him, however, and he notices Lola’s good looks even though she is fifteen years old. Paul rapes Lola but lets the blame fall upon Robbie.

In it, he informs her that Lola and Paul Marshall are to be married. He underscores the letter with “love as always” (268). Briony reads into this as her father's omniscient awareness into the fact that he may know that Paul was the criminal, and exactly what Briony and Lola did to blame Robbie.