This study investigates Ian McEwan’s Atonement (2001) in terms of the Lacanian concepts of Subjectivity, Desire and the Symbolic. The novel depicts the need to atone for the really horrific thing Briony Tallis, the thirteen-year old protagonist, did when she was a kid, that is accusing her sister’s lover, Robbie, of rape and ruining their lives. The central objective of this research is to demonstrate the affinity between the Symbolic Order, in which the Briony and Cecilia are positioned, and their subjectivity. In this regard psychological growth of them is elucidated via Lacanian triplet orders. The paper goes through the exploring the process of ego formation toward the issue of the subject formation. Using the concepts of the ideal ego and the ego ideal, this study strives to reveal the original reasons of Cecilia and Briony’s narcissism and their craving for controlling the lives of the others. The analysis of the case study showed that the subjectivity of the characters of Atonement is in the process of ever changing and becoming. This relational aspect of subjectivity suggests that the characters have little or no influence in determining their identity. In other words, they are not the creators but rather they have been created. Although Briony, Robbie and Cecilia are frequently due to change, they are not the decision makers, but rather they are decided for.
