Vincent's response to the use of Prolepsis in Atonement.

“Briony was hardly to know it then, but this was the project’s highest point of fulfillment”

This is a short but significant prolepsis because it shows the reader Briony’s role in the novel. Firstly, the author suggests to the reader that the play that Briony made, which is seen as very childish would be the best thing Briony would achieve throughout the whole novel. This would make us think about why and how Briony wouldn’t be able to achieve anything else better than just a play, perhaps she will do something bad that would make the reader loose sympathy for her, or her character is simply boring and monotonous.

Furthermore, this quote also creates an emphasis on how important the play would be and how it would contribute a lot to the novel, because the play reflects on Briony’s character and on how she sees everything in black and white. Perhaps this would be bad later on in the story, for example when she sees Robbie and Cecilia by the fountain or when the blamed Robbie for the rape just because she saw him as a bad guy from a fairy tale.