Caravaggio Character Analysis in In the Skin of a Lion

Despite being a thief, Caravaggio is one of the novel’s most immediately likable characters. An Italian immigrant, Caravaggio is particularly skillful at seducing the people around him, overwhelming them with his charm and good humor. He is deeply in love with his wife Giannetta, with whom he shares a respectful, cooperative relationship, as she often helps him in his work.

Caravaggio Character Timeline in In the Skin of a Lion

The timeline below shows where the character Caravaggio appears in In the Skin of a Lion. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

The Working Class vs. the Rich Theme Icon

Literature, Imagination, and Creativity Theme Icon

...tar onto the mud roads leading to the bridge, the foreman calls a man named Caravaggio, who feels exasperated at the prospect of having another fight with the foreman. While the... (full context)

...with the sky and step off the side of the roof. Patrick and Buck paint Caravaggio blue against the roof so that he will not be visible and can escape. At... (full context)

Community and Immigrant Culture Theme Icon

When Caravaggio arrives in Trenton, he jumps off the train, still completely covered in blue. He sleeps... (full context)

Caravaggio then walks briefly into the nearby factory when the owner is busy, and goes into... (full context)

Caravaggio runs north through the bush, hoping to find a cottage he could stay in for... (full context)

While sleeping, Caravaggio experiences a familiar nightmare, the memory of three men attacking him in prison. Patrick, who... (full context)

The next morning, Caravaggio uses a canoe to paddle on the lake. He comes across a neighbor in another... (full context)

Caravaggio recalls training to be a thief and moving all the furniture and objects in his... (full context)

Caravaggio then remembers the early days when he felt interested in becoming a thief. He was... (full context)

Hours later, Caravaggio sees a factory worker, a woman, dress beside him and he tries to attract her... (full context)

Although Caravaggio cannot see the woman’s face, the two of them laugh together and share their names.... (full context)

The next day, Giannetta tells Caravaggio that they have to shave his moustache because only women work at this factory. When... (full context)

At the lake, Caravaggio walks toward the cottages that are connected to telephone wires. Hoisting himself onto the roof... (full context)

Caravaggio then jumps down and enters the main building where he finds a phone to call... (full context)

Anne asks Caravaggio whom he was calling, if he is a thief, and what he is looking for.... (full context)

Caravaggio recalls the beginning of his career as a thief, when he was scared and self-conscious... (full context)

Now at his brother-in-law’s house, Caravaggio drinks a glass of milk and embraces Giannetta, who kisses the scar on his neck.... (full context)

...himself from thinking about Alice, but his refusal to communicate changed on the night that Caravaggio was attacked. (full context)

...to hit chained monkeys with champagne corks to win a free bottle. That night, Patrick, Caravaggio, and Giannetta step off a motor launch toward the Yacht Club where, thanks to Caravaggio’s... (full context)

Inserting himself perfectly in this social circle, Caravaggio dances with women and jokes with men, before finally finding the couple he is looking... (full context)

When the group steps onto the couple’s yacht, Caravaggio, already drunk, searches for more bottles of alcohol. After they begin sailing, the wife asks... (full context)

After meticulously studying the plans of the waterworks that Caravaggio stole, Patrick knows the specific size of each part of the waterworks. Taking off his... (full context)