We must note that words such as “posessed” suggest that this desire is very strong. It is also very unusual for a child to organize his/her toys this way. It reminds me of autistic children, who like to arrange their toys, usually according to their sizes.
Love of order
Naturally, with a love for control, she has a great love of order, which is reflected in her regret of not having written a story for Leon, and going for a play, which resulted in a disorganized mess (page 37);
“The simplest way to have impressed Leon would have been to write him a story and put it in his hands herself, and watch as he read it. The title lettering, the illustrated cover, the pages bound –in that word alone she felt the attraction of the neat, limited and controllable form she had left behind when she decided to write a play”.
This is kind of ironic, as she probably decided to write a play not only because of her love for attention, but to also be the director, and have people under her control. Now, she regrets that choice after realizing that people are not easily controllable like her play dolls and animals.
Self-centered
A self-loving thought that Briony has after her reflection about her hand (page 35) is shared with us in page 36;
“For example, did her sister really matter to herself, was she as valuable to herself as Briony was? Was being Cecilia just as vivid an affair as being Briony?”
It is amazing how the author shares her thoughts with us like this, as it gives us a true insight to her personality. This thought reflects self-centeredness, as it suggests she doesn’t know if the experience of life of others is similar to hers, also suggesting a lack of empathy, as does this quote;
“The rehearsals also offended her sense of order. The self-contained world she had drawn with clear and perfect lines had been defaced with the scribble of other minds, other needs”
This quote suggests that Briony thinks she is better than others; her lines are “perfect”, whereas others merely “scribble”. On the other hand, her order is disturbed by the needs of others too! In this way, she is capable of not considering the needs of others, and thus probably their emotions too, and controlling them, making them follow her will.
Thus, in her mind order and control are clearly linked; because what she does is “perfect”, things can only remain in order if controlled by her! Her self-love is also reflected by her desire to be Arabella, the wonderful heroine of her book; her creation, her world.
Attention-loving and seeking
“Briony said reasonably, ‘How can you hate plays?’ ‘It’s just showing off’ Pierrot shrugged as he delivered this self-evident thruth. Briony knew he has a point. This was precisely why she loved plays, or hers at least: everyone would adore her.”
This quotation from page 11 was shocking when I first read it; Briony being attention-loving isn’t only an interpretation of her conduct, but it is a truth; she knows and admits it herself. This need to receive attention is a trait of the Narcissistic Personality Disorder, as narcissists feed on Narcissistic Supply, which is attention; even negative attention. Thus, even though she isn’t suspected to have this personality disorder, she does seem to have a serious need for attention, and needs everyone to realize how marvellous she is.
Impulsive
“One moment, Briony was giving patient instructions to Jackson, then she paused, and frowned, as if about to correct herself, and then she was gone.”
This one sentence from page 55 shows Briony’s impulsiveness, which I interpret as a result of the lack of interest and effort the three show in her play. Thus, she decides “that’s enough!”, and shows her punishing disappointment to the twins and Lola.
Functionality / Consequences
Briony’s personality is not dysfunctional up to the first few chapters, in the sense that it does not affect her life negatively. Because the people she controls, through rehearsals, are the twins and Lola, who in a sense feel that it is their duty to participate in the play, she is fairly successful, up to the point where the play fails.
The play results in a failure not because of chance, but because of her personality; Jackson, Pierrot and Lola are not interested in the play, but have to succumb to her will, to her controlling personality. However, in the end it is cancelled, as she can’t live with the twins delaying and ruining the rehearsals, or with Lola wanting to be Arabella.
These events show that when the perfect order of Briony’s world is broken, and when she doesn’t feel in control, things do not go well. Thus, I predict that Briony is not dysfunctional as long as things are under her control. In the future, when she exits the fantasy world in which she lives in, and has to deal with people who are not going to be under her control and follow her will, I would predict she will have problems.