Social class is a major factor that influences Briony's identity through the beginning of the novel and plays a role in her accusation against Robbie. The setting of this novel is set in 1935 England and this was a time where issues of social class played a major role among individuals of that era. Social class issues were present as Robbie was of a lower class than Briony and had received help from his father to complete his studies. Issues of social class are also present when Danny Hardman is immediately accused of raping Lola due to his lower class. Furthermore, Paul Marshal runs away from his crimes due to his superior class and position. Briony may be affected by these issues as she grows up exposed to this influence. The entire novel is about a young girl who makes a mistake and spends the rest of her life atoning for this mistake. Briony falsely accuses Robbie of raping Lola and dedicates the rest of her life to trying to right this wrong. This ultimately shapes his identity into the person he is at the end of the novel. Guilt is a universal concept in this novel as Lola also marries Paul Marshal to escape the guilt of allowing Robbie to be falsely accused. McEwan seems to argue that no matter how much a person tries to atone for their mistakes, it is impossible to change the past, yet one can move forward in life. This is demonstrated as Briony writes a novel telling people around the world about her mistake and hopefully ensuring it doesn't happen. Did he believe he could hide his crime behind apparent kindness, behind this demonstration of being the good shepherd? This was surely a cynical attempt to gain forgiveness for what could never be forgiven. (Ch. 14 Pg 171)". This highlights Briony's thoughts on how Robbie could never be forgiven for the crime she thinks he committed. The next time Briony thinks about guilt is when she sees Cecilia's forgiveness towards Robbie before he is. taken away. She witnesses her sisters' action and before that day, forgiveness "had never meant anything before" (Ch. 14, Page 173). with the concept of guilt and will affect all of her from then on