Can someone explain the meaning of this quote “...was everyone else really as alive as she was? For example, did her sister real
ly matter to herself, was she as valuable to herself as Briony was? Was being Cecilia just as vivid an affair as being Briony? Did her sister also have a real self concealed behind a breaking wave, and did she spend time thinking about it…if the answer was yes, then the world, the social world, was unbearably complicated…but if the answer was no, then Briony was surrounded by machines, intelligent and pleasant enough on the outside, but lacking the bright and private inside feeling she had.” - from the story The Atonement by Ian Mcewan
This one means this is the best example of Briony's struggle with her mind in and the minds of others (and not being able to interconnect the two). By pondering this point, she delves deeper into character creation, which eventually culminates in the creation of her story telling of the fountain scene from three different perspectives. We see her trouble in reaching into the minds of others when she accuses Robbie of raping Lola
