Captain Corelli's Mandolin
- For the 2001 film, see Captain Corelli's Mandolin (film).
| Author | Louis de Bernières |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical, Romance, War novel |
Publication date | 1993 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
Captain Corelli's Mandolin is a 1993 novel written by Louis de Bernières, which takes place on the island of Kefalonia during the Italian and German occupation of World War II. The main characters are Antonio Corelli, an Italian captain, and Pelagia, the daughter of the local physician, Dr. Iannis. An important event in the novel is the massacre of Italian troops by the Germans in September 1943.
Synopsis
Major characters
- Dr. Iannis - The island's unofficial, unlicensed doctor, who spends much of his time writing about the history of Kefalonia. He is respected by the community, although regarded as a bit odd, and is thanked for his medical services by means of food and drink.
- Pelagia - Dr. Iannis's daughter who is not like the other women on the island (she is well educated and has a lot of respect from her father), who at first falls in love with Mandras, then later with Antonio.
- Antonio Corelli - An Italian captain with a love for music and life. He detests the war, and gradually falls in love with Pelagia; but the war inevitably tears them apart again.
- Mandras - A young, handsome fisherman who falls in love with Pelagia, only to destroy their relationship by going to fight in the war, and ultimately humiliating himself.
- Carlo - A good-natured homosexual Italian soldier who falls in love with Francesco only to lose him to the war. He later falls in love with Corelli and sacrifices his life to save the Captain's.
- Francesco - friend to Carlo. He dies in the war after becoming insane from the futility and brutality of battle.
Major themes
"Captain Corelli's Mandolin" explores many varieties of love. We see the initial lust-based love between Pelagia and Mandras, which burns out as a result of the war, and the change it prompts in both of them. Corelli and Pelagia's slow-developing love is the central focus of the novel. Love is described by Dr. Iannis as "what is left when the passion has gone", and it certainly appears that this criterion is fulfilled by the love of Corelli and Pelagia. The paternal love of Iannis for Pelagia is also strong and is heavily compared and contrasted to that of Corelli.
The theme of homosexuality is also a recurring issue as Carlo deals with his inner feelings. The reason the character joins the Italian army is so that he might meet a man who he can love, and indeed he does; he falls in love with Francesco. Upon Francesco's death Carlo is almost driven to suicide until he meets Corelli and falls in love once more. Carlo seems ill at ease with his sexuality and only confesses his love to Francesco as he (Francesco) is dying from a fatal wound, and to Corelli once he himself is dead.
The theme of music is predominant, offering a direct contrast to the horror and destruction that the war brings, showing how something beautiful can arise from something horrible.
The war is described in graphic detail, particularly the death of Francesco. It is responsible for the fall of Mandras and Weber, the deaths of Carlo and Francesco, and the separation of Pelagia and Corelli.
Throughout the novel, de Bernières takes a harsh view of all forms of totalitarianism, condemning Fascism, Nazism, and Communism alike. De Bernières described this as a novel about "what happens to the little people when megalomaniacs get busy."
Another theme of the novel is the study of history. Dr. Iannis spends much of his spare time attempting to write a history of Cephallonia, but often finds his personal feelings and biases running through whatever he writes. There is also a strong feeling against 'professional' history which is suggested by Carlo Guercio's statement that "I know that if we [the axis] win then there will be stories about mass graves in London and vice versa". This is reinforced by De Bernières' quotation that: "history ought to be made up of the stories of ordinary people only." From this viewpoint it can be seen that de Bernières as very much a revisionist historian, considering social history superior to that of political.
De Bernières takes an ambiguous attitude toward heroism and villainy in the novel: many of the characters, despite committing atrocities, are viewed as human victims of bad circumstances. For example, the character Günter Weber carries a great degree of sympathy from the writer, even though he fully engages with the Nazi ideology and is guilty of taking part in the killing of an entire Italian regiment. Despite having become friends with many of the men, he must follow orders. Similarly, Mandras is guilty of murder, torture and rape, yet the author portrays him sympathetically: "just another life tarnished... by war."
Criticism
Some criticism has been aimed at the general letdown or even the depressing tone at the ending of the novel, with Pelagia realising she has wasted her life, and now, in her sixties, can do nothing more with what is left of her life. However, there has also been support for this ending as it is unusual for such a romantic novel to end so bluntly nor without a cliched resolution, portraying a closer to real life situation.
Referenced
Near the end of the novel (Chapter 62), Pelagia receives a photograph from Günter Weber with a German passage from Goethe's "Faust" (also a very popular German Lied, set to music by Schubert: Gretchen am Spinnrad) written on the back. It reads:
Meine Ruh ist hin,
Mein Herz ist schwer,
Ich finde sie nimmer
und nimmermehr.
Which translates as:
My peace is gone,
My heart is heavy,
I will find it never
and never more.
Awards
1995-Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book
Adaptations
Radio
The novel was adapted as four 45-minute radio plays from 17-20 September 2007 on BBC Radio 4, having been chosen as a popular 'Book of the Week' on the same station some years earlier. The episode titles were "A Pea in the Ear," "Invasion of the Italians," "Looking for Snails" and "Earthquake." It was narrated by Tom Goodman-Hill, with Celia Meiras as Pelagia, Stephen Greif as Dr Iannis, Daniel Philpott as Corelli. The mandolin music for it was composed and performed by Alison Stephens, and the production was produced and directed by David Hunter. Other cast members included:
- Carlo - Anthony Psaila
- Mandras - Chris Pavlo
- Velisarios - Alexi Kaye Campbell
- Father Arsenios - Alex Zorbas
- Lemoni - Ania Gordon
- Drosoula - Anna Savva
- Hector - Nitin Ganatra
- Officer - Simon Treves
Film
A movie version of Captain Corelli's Mandolin was released in 2001, with Nicolas Cage as the Italian Captain Corelli, John Hurt as Dr. Iannis, and Penélope Cruz as his daughter, Pelagia. It also starred Christian Bale and Irene Papas. It was directed by John Madden. It was received poorly by critics and the general public.