Essay Questions

How is death explored in Captain Correlli’s Mandolin?

Set at a time when the second world war was ravaging the world, death is central to the events portrayed in Captain Correlli’s Mandolin. Dr. Iannis is a widower following his wife’s death from tuberculosis. Additionally, Guercio, after being inscribed into the war experiences a lot of traumatic events, the climax of which is the death of his friend, Francesco. When Dr. Iannis is taken as a prisoner, he is set free later after which he returns to his daughter, Pelagia, and dies thereafter after an earthquake. In a different turn of events, when Correlli is set to be murdered, he is set free by an act of kindness characterized by Guercio standing in front of him so that he dies instead. Death is therefore a central theme in this novel.

What influence does World War II have on the love stories in this novel?

World War II does not play too kindly for the love stories for some of the characters in this work. When Pelagia meets Mandras and is set to marry him, he is taken into the war where he has to fight the Germans. Because Mandras is illiterate, he is unable to reply or even read the letters sent by his betrothed. Later, when Mandras is released from the war, Pelagia realizes that, in fact, she had never been in love with her, seeing as she is smitten by the mandolin player—Captain Correlli. Pelagia and Mandras, therefore, break off their relationship. On the other end, Captain Correlli’s relationship with Pelagia does not end up too well as he leaves returning only years later to rekindle their friendship. Even so, the effects of the war are felt on these relationships, firsthand.

How is suicide as brought out in Captain Corelli’s Mandolin?

Suicide, the act of taking one’s life, is a theme that is embodied by the character Mandras in Captain Correlli’s Mandolin. Mandras is at one point in the novel set to marry Pelagia, that is before he is enlisted into the war. After he returns from the war, Pelagia treats him, only to later break off their relationship. The loss of Pelagia negatively impacts Mandras. After he is brainwashed by the communists who train him, teaching him how to read and write, he visits Pelagia in an attempt to confront her for not loving him. When Pelagia denies these accusations, Mandras becomes annoyed and attempts to have his way with Pelagia. When the weight of his actions later overwhelms him, Mandras commits suicide. In this way, the character becomes a background used by the writer to bring out the idea of suicide in societies, perhaps also as an allusion to the effect of traumatic experiences suffered by soldiers in war.