Social class is a main factor that influences Briony's identity until the beginning of the novel and plays a role in her accusation against Robbie. The setting of this novel is 1935 England and it was a time when issues of social class played an important role among individuals of that time. Social class issues were present as Robbie was of a lower class than Briony and had received help from his father to complete his education. Social class issues are also present when Danny Hardman is immediately accused of raping Lola due to his lower class. Additionally, Paul Marshal escapes his crimes due to his higher class and position. Briony could be influenced by these issues as she grows up exposed to this influence. The entire novel revolves around a young girl who makes a mistake and spends the rest of her life atoning for that mistake. Briony wrongly accuses Robbie of raping Lola and devotes the rest of her life to trying to right this wrong. This ends up shaping her identity into the person she is at the end of the novel. Guilt is a universal concept in this novel as even Lola marries Paul Marshal in order to escape her guilt for allowing Robbie to be falsely accused. McEwan seems to be arguing that no matter how hard a person tries to atone for their mistakes, it is impossible to change the past, but one can move forward in life. This is seen when Briony writes a novel telling individuals around the world about her mistake and hopefully ensuring that it won't happen. Did he believe he could hide his crime behind an apparent kindness, behind this demonstration of being the good shepherd? It was surely a cynical attempt to gain forgiveness for what could never be forgiven. (Ch 14, page 171)". This highlights Briony's thoughts about how Robbie could never be forgiven for the crime she thinks he committed. The next time Briony thinks about guilt, it is when she sees Cecilia's forgiveness towards Robbie before he is taken away. She sees her sisters act and before that day, forgiveness had "never meant anything before" (Ch 14, Pg 173) This is Briony's first interaction with the concept of guilt and from then on it will affect her entirely..