Soldiers of Salamis: Analysis of Major Characters

Author: José Javier Cercas Mena

Alternate Title: Soldados de Salamina

First published: 2001 (English translation, 2003)

Genre: Novel

Locale: Barcelona, Spain; Girona, Spain; Madrid, Spain; Dijon, France

Plot: Historical fiction

Time: 1936–39; 1999–2000

Javier Cercas, a self-deprecating journalist and unsuccessful novelist in his forties. He becomes fascinated by the story of Rafael Sánchez Mazas's escape, particularly with the unidentified Republican soldier who showed him mercy. After five years of attempting to sustain himself as a novelist left him in emotional and economic ruin, Cercas's fragile state is shattered when his father dies and his wife divorces him. He returns to his former job as a newspaper writer, in which capacity he interviews Spanish writer Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio, Mazas's son, who tells Cercas about his father's escape. Four years later, after writing a short article about the incident, Cercas becomes even more fixated on Mazas's story, partly because of the loss of his own father. Urged on by his girlfriend, Conchi, Cercas turns his obsession into a book called Soldiers of Salamis, which focuses on Mazas's life during the Spanish Civil War. When the book is finished, Cercas is proud of it, but believes it to be insufficient, lacking as it does the identity of the Republican soldier who allowed Mazas to escape. With the help of fellow writer Roberto Bolaño, Cercas tracks down the man he believes to be Mazas's savior: Antonio Miralles, a former Republican soldier who was there that day. Although his suspicions are never confirmed, Cercas believes that Miralles is the real hero and feels confident that he has a good ending for his novel.

Rafael Sánchez Mazas, a poet and novelist who was one of the founders of the Falange Española (Spanish Phalanx), a fascist right-wing political movement. A tall, thin man with short hair and glasses, Mazas is an ardent Spanish Nationalist who opposes the Second Spanish Republic. When the Nationalist uprising takes place on July 18, 1936, sparking the Spanish Civil War, Mazas is trapped in Republican-controlled Madrid, and he spends much of the ensuing war hiding in the Chilean embassy. In 1937, he escapes to Barcelona but is subsequently arrested by Republican forces, tried, and imprisoned. During the last days of the war, as General Francisco Franco's troops are advancing on Barcelona, Mazas is moved out of the city and held for several days with two thousand other Nationalist prisoners. On January 30, 1939, he is one of fifty prisoners scheduled for mass execution by firing squad. As the execution is about to begin, he flees for the nearby forest. A young Republican soldier sees Mazas trembling in a ditch, but the soldier simply stares at Mazas and then walks away, allowing him to escape. Mazas spent many days in the woods, living off what he can find on farms. Following his escape and the Nationalist victory, he briefly serves as propagandist and minister without portfolio in the government regime of Franco, now dictator of Spain. However, Mazas quickly becomes disillusioned with politics, which clash with his poetic ideals, and he lives out the rest of his life as a frustrated writer.

Antonio Miralles, an enigmatic old man living in a French nursing home. During the Spanish Civil War, he fought on the Republican side and later joined the French Foreign Legion during World War II. He also answers to the name Antoni, but most people simply call him by his surname. Miralles has gray hair, a whitish beard, and a scar down the side of his face. His hands are spotted and he walks with a cane. A friendly, jovial man with a large, unsteady body, he carries a flask of cognac to sneak into his coffee at the retirement home. Cercas believes that Miralles is the soldier who let Mazas escape execution. Miralles is flattered by Cercas's curiosity but will neither confirm nor deny his theory. Remembering the people who died during the Civil War makes him cry.

Roberto Bolaño, a fictionalized version of the celebrated Chilean writer. Bolaño is the one who tells Cercas the story of former soldier Antonio Miralles, who is now living in a nursing home in France. He met Miralles at the Estrella de Mar campsite in Barcelona, Spain, where the two camped every summer and Miralles told stories about the war. Bolaño, a bespectacled chain-smoker in his late forties, is well aware that he will die from his bad habits, knowledge that depresses him because of all the books he will never be able to write.

Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio, Mazas's son. A Spanish writer with an aristocratic manner, it is Ferlosio who first sparks Cercas's interest in Mazas with the story of his father's escape. He has a large nose and a gaunt, unshaven face, and his hair is messy and streaked with gray. He is fond of red wine.

Miguel Aguirre, a historian who spent several years researching the events of the Spanish Civil War in the Banyoles region of Catalonia. A short, stocky man with dark hair, Aguirre aids Cercas in his search for Mazas's rescuer. He is opposed to Spanish Nationalism and considers himself politically independent.

Conchi, Cercas's third girlfriend since his divorce. She works as a fortune-teller on a local television station under the stage name Jasmine. She enjoys watching her performance at night and then discussing it. Conchi is an eccentric woman who is very supportive of Cercas's work and encourages him to write his novel.

José Antonio Primo de Rivera, a fictionalized version of the Spanish lawyer, politician, and aristocrat. He cofounded the Falange with Mazas, who often served as his adviser. José Antonio is executed shortly after the start of the war.