The comparison of Carlo and Mandras - Jessica

In the novel CCM, De Bernieres makes the characters of Carlo and Mandras strongly contrasting. Although both characters ideally joined the war for love their true motives behind joining were very different. Carlo’s attitude towards the war was that it was a place where he was able to love fully, under the protection of the idea of comradeship as a kind of love between men rather than viewing all love between men as homosexuality. Mandras however, uses the war as a way to prove to Pelagia and her father that he is worth their time and respect in order to gain love or rather to gain honour and power. Although their general attitudes towards the war were different, both men went in order to find something they were missing. Both characters attitudes towards their loved ones are very different also. Through his letters, the reader can come to the conclusion that Carlo is a very reflective character; he loves unconditionally and gives all that he is able to give. This is shown in the “L’omosessuale” chapters, where Carlo writes about the deterioration of Francesco’s mental health, shown when Francesco “shits himself deliberately in order to savour the momentary heat”, yet even after that Carlo continues to love him, shown when “[Francesco’s] shattered head was cradled in [Carlo’s] arms like a little child” the use of “child” at this point shows the reader the absolute extent of Carlo’s unconditional love. Mandras however showed little emotion throughout the beginning of the novel and when he did they were limited to selfish acts that would gain him honour and status. Before the war the relationship between Mandras and Pelagia is very visual, describing the beauty of the characters however there is a lack of absolute love and devotion, their ‘love’ seems only surface deep. After returning from the war Mandras expected full love and devotion from Pelagia without considering the effects of the war on her and her feelings. He demands her love, respect and obedience rather than earning it and he becomes aggressive when he does not receive these which he is demanding. This shows that overall Mandras’ ‘love’ for Pelagia is purely through aesthetics not true love. The war affected everyone at the time, not only the soldiers, though the effects on them were the greatest. Both Carlo and Mandras suffer greatly from the war, both men suffered the unbearable conditions and both men suffered the loss of someone they love, however the final affects on the men was very different. Mandras comes back from war unrecognisable and reduced to infancy. Carlo however maintains his strength and his ‘manly’ persona. Both men lost someone they loved; Carlo lost Francesco, the man he was able to love so fully and unconditionally, to the war. He left feeling more tortured and anguished than he had before the war. And Mandras lost the love of Pelagia due to social barriers and Mandras’ inability to read or write, never feeling true loss only anger and resentment. Therefore, although these characters are similar in the sense that they have suffered loss and physical pain, the affects that the war has had on them is very different. De Bernieres presents the two characters very differently. Carlo was presented though his letters, the first person narrative was effective as it portrayed a very reflective, sensitive and emotional character. Through reading the letters Carlo’s character gains empathy from the readers. Personal emotions conveyed to the reader through the letters in sorrowful reflection such as “ I am exploding with the fire of love and there is no one to accept or nourish it”, turns Carlo from being just another character into someone the reader can understand and connect with. Mandras however is first presented to the reader through the eyes of Pelagia, presenting him as a “beautiful” character but there is no depth or personal connection in the reader/character relationship. De Bernieres describes Mandras’ character through his beauty rather than his emotions as was done with Carlo. De Bernieres uses similes such as “man naked and wild, a man like Adam”, suggesting that God had made Mandras to perfection, that there was nothing more beautiful than him. Mandras is purely described as a ‘beautiful’ character; De Bernieres purely uses visual literary techniques to portray a very shallow character that the reader is unable to have a deep, emotional connection with as they had done with Carlo. The lack of personal response towards Mandras’ character allows De Bernieres to create two very different characters.