In death, Carlo is described as 'the perfect figure of the perfect man.' To what extent do you agree with this epitaph?

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In death, Carlo is described as ‘the perfect figure of the perfect man.’ To what extent do you agree with this epitaph?

The word ‘perfect’ is defined in the Chamber’s Dictionary as ‘complete in all essential elements…faultless…..flawless.’ When put into the context of ‘the perfect man’, we are immediately presented with a problem; ideas as to what characteristics represent the ‘complete’ man vary throughout history, between cultures and between classes within some cultures. ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’ is set in a Mediterranean culture mediated through the perspective of a late twentieth century English novelist.  Mediterranean culture, even now, when we have extensive global communications, remains significantly more orientated towards a ‘traditional’ ideal of male perfection: the male as provider, defender, ruler – both of the family and of society, physically strong, fearless and courageous. In contemporary Britain, the influence of feminism and social trends have eliminated the image of the dominant male, and ideas of perfection would tend to focus more on moral courage and sensitivity. There is therefore an inherent tension between the way in which an individual character in the novel would be perceived by his contemporaries and how the author and we, as readers, filter our preconceptions.  One crucial implicit assumption common to both periods is that the majority of people, in envisaging the ‘perfect’ man, would automatically assume that he would be heterosexual. In spite of the very considerable changes in official status and societal acceptance of homosexuality in Britain in the intervening period, the fact that heterosexuality remains the dominant norm, apart from any lingering prejudice, would ensure that no notion of perfection would allow for any deviation from that norm.

Carlo’s homosexuality is therefore and intentionally both highly symbolic and a deliberate challenge to expectations, and how it affected his behaviour and the social context in which his actions were set, one central to this essay.

There are a number of other major male characters in the novel and it is worth highlighting and comparing their characteristics and respective roles in order to evaluate that of Carlo, in particular, Corelli, Iannis, Mandras, Velisarios and Weber.

 A relevant theme in this novel is the conflict of heroism and barbarism. The word ‘hero’ is closely linked with the ‘perfect man’, it is defined as ‘a man, often of divine ancestry, who is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for his bold exploits and favoured by the Gods.’

The character of Carlo Guercio represents the noble love between men celebrated as the ideal in the time of Plato. A critical ironic contrast is that between the status of homosexuality in ancient Greece and modern Greece. Two thousand years ago, Carlo’s love for other men would have been accepted within the dominant culture and would indeed have been acknowledged as inspiring acts of heroism and sacrifice. In Carlo’s time, however, it was regarded as a transgression and abnormality, to be treated with repugnance. This has ties with his philosophical outlook on the world. He is an intelligent observer who views the world with a balanced opinion; he loves all good and beauty that exists. He sees these qualities particularly in Captain Antonio Corelli and Francesco. It can be said that for all of Carlo’s strengths and attributes, he has one ‘weakness’. His homosexuality would be perceived by his contemporaries as a ‘weakness’ or worse, and his failure to be true to himself and others by never revealing his true sexual orientation until after death could be constructed as a lack of courage. In the contemporary worlds of Italy and Greece in which the novel is set, Carlo is as he describes himself in his own words as ‘detested as cancer when I am as purely flesh as any priest or doctor.’ He strikes a strong note in both of harsh reality and great poignancy with his comment that he is ‘exploding with the fire of love and there is no one to accept or nourish it’. Carlo is a hero in the sense that his love is pure and sincere, he does not have any of the guilty vices like adultery and promiscuity that other lovers indulge in, he instantly gives the impression of an ideal man, someone who would make a devoted partner whilst maintaining heroic status. However, he is not exploding with love for women, but for men. Everything about his love is beautiful except the setting it has in the circumstances of a homophobic society in both Italy and Greece.

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In L’Ommosesuale(2), Carlo voices the pain and humiliation he had to endure in his upbringing, ‘I had to answer my grandmother when she asked me what kind of girl I wanted to marry….I learned to be more lonely than it ought to be possible to feel.’ He goes on to say that ‘In the army there was the same gross talk, but it was a world without women.’ This is the most obvious reason why Carlo joined the army, an attempt to distance himself from women as far as possible, which would give him the comfort of not having ...

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