Both Uses of
atone
in
Crime and Punishment, by Dostoyevsky
- Killing her was atonement for forty sins.†
Chpt 6.7 *atonement = the process of fixing or making up for a wrong
- And as for the murder, he will do all sorts of good deeds yet, to atone for it.†
Chpt 6.5
Definitions:
-
(1)
(atone) to fix or make up for a wrong -- especially a sin (even if nothing can be done to make up for the wrong other than to show regret)
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Archaically, atone could also mean to agree, to appease, or to reconcile.