A Soldier of the Great War: Analysis of Major Characters
"A Soldier of the Great War" presents a poignant exploration of the major characters intertwined in the narrative of Alessandro Guiliani, a seventy-four-year-old professor recounting his life experiences during World War I. Alessandro embodies resilience and integrity, shaped by his upbringing as the son of a principled attorney. His journey unfolds from enlisting in the navy against his father's wishes to navigating the brutal realities of war, including personal loss, imprisonment, and a quest for love. Key characters include Nicolo Sambucca, a young worker who learns from Alessandro’s tales, and Guariglia, a devoted soldier who faces the harrowing consequences of war and familial duty. The narrative also highlights Ariane, Alessandro's love interest and a devoted nurse, whose bond with him is tested by the chaos of conflict. Other significant figures, like Orfeo Quatta, the disillusioned scribe, and Luciana Guiliani, Alejandro's supportive sister, further enrich the story, illustrating the diverse impacts of war on individual lives. Together, these characters paint a complex picture of human experience, resilience, and the longing for connection amidst the devastation of war.
A Soldier of the Great War: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Mark Helprin
First published: 1991
Genre: Novel
Locale: Rome, Bologna, and the Appenines, in Italy
Plot: Bildungsroman
Time: Early 1900's to August, 1964
Alessandro Guiliani (ah-leh-SAHN-droh gwee-lee-AHnee), a professor of aesthetics in Rome, Italy. At the age of seventy-four, he travels to Monte Prato, seventy kilometers from Rome. He meets Nicolo Sambucca and recounts his life during World War I. His experiences show him to be a man of unfaltering resolve, individuality, and honesty. As the son of an attorney, he acquires his father's sense of justice. He attends university in Bologna, studying aesthetics and protesting Italian involvement in the Turkish War. In 1914, he enlists in the navy despite his father's discouragement. His tour of duty begins in the Nineteenth River Guard, stationed on the border between Austria and Italy. Alessandro and his friend Guariglia barely escape death after Austrian advances; they are both reassigned to a covert unit ordered to capture deserters in Sicily. Understanding the deserters' motivations, he leaves his post and journeys back to Rome. He returns to an ailing father and the reality of his mother's recent death. Although he fears arrest, he remains at his father's bedside until apprehended by Italian troops and taken to Stella Maris. During his imprisonment, his father dies. A firing squad executes Alessandro's comrades from the River Guard, but he escapes this fate through an unexplained reprieve. He begins to recognize his remarkable ability to sidestep death and his inability to save the individuals he loves. After his imprisonment, he is sent to the front lines. As Alessandro recovers from an arm wound, he falls in love with his nurse, Ariane. Austrians bomb the clinic, and his fear that she has died steals his passion for life. Although he accepts dangerous assignments, he survives. Eventually, he is captured by Austrian soldiers; he travels to Vienna as a prisoner of war. Overwhelmed by his desire to return to Rome, Alessandro escapes before his official release. He believes that Ariane might be alive and begins a diligent search. He is reunited with her and his son one year later. Sharing these memories with Nicolo comforts Alessandro and enables him to accept his own death.
Alessandro's father, an attorney in Rome. He believes in truth, the rewards of hard work, and the importance of the family. He also advocates calculated risk-taking and sells the family garden in order to buy a plot of land in Rome that he predicts will later benefit his children. He tries to dissuade his son from joining the navy but realizes that Alessandro must live beyond his father's wishes. He suffers through reports of Alessandro's death but believes that he lives. As the older Guiliani dies, Alessandro returns to his bedside, and belief becomes truth.
Nicolo Sambucca (nee-KOH-loh sahm-BEW-kah), a young worker at a propeller-making factory in Rome. He misses his train to Sant'Angelo and runs doggedly after it. The train stops, but he is denied entrance, and Alessandro leaves the compartment in protest. Nicolo walks the sixty kilometers to visit his sister, enjoying the old man's company. When Alessandro reaches the end of his account, Nicolo realizes that he has passed his destination. Although reluctant to leave Alessandro, he agrees to do so, taking with him the concrete memories of his companion's loves and losses.
Orfeo Quatta, (ohr-FEH-oh KWAHT-tah), an old, misshapen scribe who works for the attorney Guiliani until the introduction of the typewriter. Unable to stomach subordination to a machine, he leaves the attorney's employment, becoming a scribe for the ministry of war. Embittered by powerlessness, Orfeo manipulates transcribed military orders. His changes protect Alessandro in certain instances. Eventually, he succumbs to eccentricities and dies in an explosion of his own making.
Guariglia (gwah-REE-lyee-ah), a Roman harness maker and soldier in the Nineteenth River Guard. Fellow soldiers name him the toughest among them, but that toughness is tempered by his devotion to his children. He survives the River Guard massacre and is reassigned to a unit bound for Sicily. When separation from his family becomes overwhelming, he deserts his post. Italian troops arrest him soon afterward, sending him to Stella Maris for execution.
Ariane, the daughter of an Italian doctor and a French woman. She becomes a nurse at the Greunsee Clinic and treats the wounded Alessandro. They fall in love and conceive a child. Austrians bomb the clinic, and Ariane believes that Alessandro is dead. She returns to Rome, where she is reunited with Alessandro three years later.
Luciana Guiliani (lew-CHEE-ah-nah), Alessandro's sister. As a young woman, she falls in love with her brother's university friend, Rafi Foa. She comforts both her dying father and Alessandro, as he awaits execution. After she believes that she has lost her entire family, she immigrates to America.
Rafi Foa (RAH-fee FOH-ah), a Jewish law student in Bologna when he befriends Alessandro. He falls in love with Luciana, although her youth prevents their marriage. Rafi joins the war effort and perishes on the front lines as Alessandro struggles to save him.