Captin Corelli's Mandolin and Music

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From your reading of Captain Corelli's Mandolin, how appropriate would you say the musical reference in the title is?

The musical reference in the title is appropriate to the novel because it helps sum up one of its central paradoxes which is war and life or peace. While 'Captain' conveys the difficult situation Corelli is in the Mandolin can be seen as a symbol of life and optimism in the novel and offers a sense of hope as it can bridge all gaps caused by war.

Music is shown to be a life force throughout the novel by the associations de Bernieres makes with it, particularly set against the dark contrast of war. As the title suggests the character of Corelli and music are inseparable concepts and so the reader is invited to see this character as another force of good. A major part of the novel is concerned with the love affair between Captain Corelli and Pelagia and so we are able to appreciate its importance to their relationship and the close affinity that music has with love in general. Corelli is able to illustrate his love and admiration for Pelagia through music

'It was a march, a march of a proud woman who persecutes war with hard words and kindness.'

Through music Corelli can express one of the aspects of Pelagia that he most loves- her complexity.

Music is associated with children and childlike behaviour. Corelli is an exuberant character who appreciates the power of laughter and enjoys playing with Lemoni. De Bernieres shows the power of music in allowing a person to retain their innocence and appreciation of the simple pleasures of life.

Music is also associated with inspiration. Pelagia has an epiphany when she realises that music is 'an emotional and intellectual odyssey.' For the first time Pelagia is inspired by music, recognises its true value and this is given greater significance as it parallels her realisation of her love for Captain Corelli. Music is shown to be inspiring in its self but on another level can prove a catalyst for revelation and greater knowledge of ones self in general.

Music is also a symbol of strings for heart strings as they are Captain Corelli's salvation in medical sense

'I used some of your mandolin strings to link the bone.'

Corelli's association with music is made complete as the mandolin becomes physically part of him in order to keep him alive. The strings are a force of life, working against death and this is particularly significant in the context of war. Music is symbolic of the human spirit and its ability to survive in the face of adversity.

As well as beginning an inseparable part of the character of Corelli, music is also linked with woman to highlight its force for good and redemption. Pelagia is described as a mandolin

"I brush her strings, softly, and I say to her "how can you be made of wood?" just as I see Pelagia and ask without speaking, "Are you truly made of flesh."'

Pelagia and women in general in the novel are shown as having an enduring strength that overcomes difficulties and hardship. Pelagia survives the war, withstands separation from her lover and the death of her father to ultimately be rewarded with a second youth at the end of the novel. Women are shown as holding the family together with Dresola and Pelagia forming a female trio with Antonia to afford her a secure upbringing.

The musical reference in the title fixes novel in the romantic tradition of love being inspired through music and the rule of the heart over the head. Pelagia can not resist being seduced by Corelli's music, just as ultimately she can not help falling in love with him

'She watched his face and forgot to attend any more to the music; she wanted to share the journey.'

The beauty of the music removes Pelagia from her present situation allowing her to forget her worries, feel pleasure and so her still sub conscious love for Captain Corelli grows. The music enables Pelagia to forget the war and that Corelli is on the opposing side

'The trouble was that he was no longer just an Italian, he was Captain Corelli, who played the mandolin and was very charming.'

Music provides the platform for the two to fall in love as it transports them to another level of reality their own reality together.

Music is shown to be a tool for communication. Corelli feels terrible guilt for his part in the war particularly because he feels so at home at Greece and he ponders the contradictory nature of the World

'What have I got against the British that I have had to come to Greece? Pelagia is right, but who will be the first to say it? So far only Antonia has said it, ringing with 'Pelagia's March', singing beneath my fingers.'

Corelli's music is given real poignancy as we are able to appreciate that it expresses his inner most feelings -what he feels that he can not even voice. . In this sense music is a miracle which cannot be explained rationally. It is given an almost spiritual quality with its power to communicate when words can not be found

Beautiful imagery and language is used both to describe Corelli's music and also the mandolin its self

'the rounded belly of it was composed of tapering strings of close-grained maple, separated skilfully by thin fillets of rosewood.'

The reader is able to appreciate that the mandolin is an extraordinary thing of beauty

and its music to be 'exquisite' as the language invites us to visualise and hear it. Set against graphic, brutal language used to describe the realities of war de Bernieres acts to make the difference between war and the civilised virtues of harmony, calm and beauty all the more shocking.

Music is also used as a narrative device as it parallels action and mood. In a stream of lyrical consciousness we are able to trace Corelli's growing obsession with Pelagia through his passionate rhapsody on music and love

'Pelagia shares these simple, merry chords. She plays with the cat and laughs, and it is sol. She raises an eyebrow when she catches me observing, and pretends to reproach me and reprove me for the guilt of admiration, and it is doh.'

Corelli makes the connection between Pelagia and music when he describes her like a piece of music and so we are able to fully appreciate the depth of his feelings as she becomes his other great passion.

In the novel music is also shown to be an antidote to engines of destruction. When Corelli and the other Italian soldiers are being taken to be executed Corelli suggests that they all begin to sing

"'Why not sing in the face of death? 'Let's sing, boys,' he repeated. 'Carlo sing.'"

For him the need for music in his most desperate hour is overwhelming. Music can be seen as a solace as it sooths souls in turmoil. It has an ability to transport people out of their present situation and find strength within themselves

'It was easier to hum than to dwell on death; it gave the heart something to do.'

The power of music is emphasised as it floods the minds of the soldiers providing them with the strength to face death with dignity and so music can be seen as inspiring acts of heroism.

Music also brings out human and individual side of the 'good Nazi' as an antidote to his uniformity of ideology. When Gunter is first introduced he is clearly a young boy lost to the Nazi regime. He emptily repeats Nazi slogans and is the stereotypical Nazi soldier. However, Corelli is able to expose the 'real' Gunter by making him a member of La Scala and allowing him to join in in some good hearted fun. Gunter is in fact not a typical Nazi shown through his appreciation off music which sets his soul free. However, it is significant that he can not sing, signalling that ultimately he is 'destined to betray with a Judas kiss.'

The novel is post-modern in its undermining of certainties and so the musical reference in the title is highly significant as it features continually as a positive contrast to war. Where war is shown to be destructive, music is shown to be healing. War takes away human life but music can be seen as a life force.

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