Shows how de Bernires uses myth in "Captain Corelli's Mandolin".

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Sunday, 13 October 2002                Jad Salfiti

A2 English Literature

Shows how de Berniéres uses myth in “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin”

“Captain Corelli’s Mandolin” takes place on a small Greek island called Cephallonia, that is still, in the years before World War II, touched with all the magic of a Greek legend, and immersed with a light that is “as though straight from the imagination of God in His youngest days, when He still believed that all was good”.  Dr. Iannis lives with his daughter, Pelagia. Dr. Iannis’ wife and Pelagia's mother died at an early age, leaving Pelagia with a somewhat unconventional upbringing. 

Iannis is a self taught man who has never lost his desire for learning. Dr. Iannis is described as “odd on account of his compulsion to heal” this is similar to the Greek hero, Aristaeus, who learned in the arts of medicine and soothsaying, Aristaeus wandered through many lands teaching his skills and curing the sick. In turn, Pelagia picks up things from her father, and has a knack for education; she is probably the most educated woman on Cephallonia.

Pelagia falls in love with Mandras, a local fisherman. She secretly gazes at Mandras swimming naked in the sea with some dolphins; dolphins appear frequently in Classical mythology, they are depicted on frescoes on the bathroom wall in the Palace of Knossos in Crete, however their importance is ambiguous. In Homer's 'Hymn to Apollo’ which describes how the Greek God Apollo founded the temple at Delphi after a journey which took him all over Greece in search of a suitable site, in this myth Apollo takes the guise of a dolphin. Pelagia, we soon discover has a mythological strain in her observations and she likens Mandras to a male nymph on account of his exceptional physique, his description is akin to that of Apollo.

 

Alas, Benito Mussolini has decided to invade Greece without informing anyone. De Berniéres allows Mussolini to take centre stage with an entire chapter “The Duce” written from his perspective; this chapter is like a comic set-piece bringing to life historians’ comprehension of Mussolini. Carlo is a young Italian soldier fighting in Mussolini's Balkans campaign. Carlo is anything but conventional not only is he of stature colossal but he is also a closeted homosexual. Friendly fire from other parts of the Italian forces, continual attacks by Greek guerrillas, and most of all, the perishing cold in the mountains persistently puts under threat Carlo and his comrades lives.  Any patriotism he felt is soon devastated by the loss of his friend and clandestine object of affection, Francesco, a fellow soldier. Carlo asserts his ignorance “of the love of Achilles and Patroclus” and regrets that he (an Italian soldier) is “oppressing the only people whose ancestors bestowed upon my [his] kind the right to embody the most perfect form of love” one might draw a comparison between Carlo and the mythological hero Achilles. Achilles was a formidable warrior, possessing fierce and uncontrollable anger. According to Homer, Achilles came to Troy leading the 50 ships of the Myrmidons. In the last year of the siege, when Agamemnon stole the captive princess Briseis from him, Achilles angrily withdrew and took his troops from the war. Later he allowed his friend and homosexual lover Patroclus to borrow his armour and lead the Myrmidons to aid the retreating Greeks. This is parallel to Carlo’s talk of Phaedrus’ theory that “If there were only some way of contriving that a state or an army should be made up of lovers” love being so great it would, in theory, make men dare to die for their beloved.

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Carlo and Velisarios are both giants and “as strong as an ox[es] de Berniéres describes them as titans “Both of these titans had become accustomed to the saddening suspicion within themselves that they were freaks” this is analogous to the most popular of all Greek heroes, Hercules, famous for his extraordinary strength and courage. But Hera later drove Hercules insane, and in his madness he killed his wife and children. After Hercules had recovered his sanity, he sought purification at the court of King Eurystheus of Tiryns for 12 years. During those years Hercules performed 12 arduous labours. Like Hercules, Carlo is ...

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