Captain Corelli’s Mandolin: Chapter 20 Summary & Analysis

Pelagia hauls a jar of water into the house. She's finally feeling strong and whole again. She stops abruptly when she finds a strange, stinking man at the table. She's terrified and tells him that Dr. Iannis is out. The man says he's glad she's happy and says he'll never be warm again. His voice is phlegmy and he sounds sick. The man continues to ramble on about being cold in the mountains and when Pelagia asks him to leave, he says he has no boots. Psipsina comes inside, races to the man, and finds a scrap of cheese in his pocket. Pelagia realizes the man is Mandras.

Mandras asks Pelagia for coffee and says he stinks. Pelagia feels helpless and accuses Mandras of not writing. He admits he can't write or read, but pulls out the letters and asks her to read them to him. Pelagia is horrified--Mandras doesn't know how cold her letters became at the end. He admits he thought only of Pelagia at all times and begins to cry. Pelagia puts her hands on his shoulders and discovers he's bony and infested with lice.