Pelagia's adopted daughter; she's named after Corelli's mandolin. Pelagia and Drosoula find the infant Antonia on their doorstep near the end of the war and though they initially consider turning her over to the Red Cross, they raise her themselves. Antonia is a happy and quiet baby and when Dr. Iannis returns when she's a toddler, she's instrumental in helping him recover from the trauma of the concentration camp. She has little time for being ladylike or proper and often gets into trouble. When she's around eight, the family adopts a cat they call Psipsina. This causes a number of problems, as Antonia's nickname is also Psipsina. Pelagia teaches Antonia to think and the two debate politics and philosophy once Antonia is a teenager. Because of this, Pelagia isn't surprised when Antonia declares herself a radical communist and decides to marry a radical lawyer when she's seventeen. Antonia and her husband, Alexi, have a baby boy, Iannis, after more than fifteen years of marriage--though prior to becoming pregnant, Antonia was very annoyed with Pelagia's insistence that Antonia provide her a grandchild, while Pelagia respected her autonomy in nearly every other way. After Iannis's birth, Antonia opens a string of souvenir shops and becomes forgetful and distant from her son. She and Alexi do very well financially and remain close with their family, but they both break promises to Iannis and make him feel alone and unmoored.
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Antonia Character Timeline in Captain Corelli’s Mandolin
The timeline below shows where the character Antonia appears in Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 64. Antonia
...girl on their doorstep. She's calm and smiles all the time, and Pelagia names her Antonia after Corelli's mandolin. Drosoula and Pelagia find purpose in caring for Antonia, who never asks...
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...ending his life and saving Corelli's, and Pelagia understands that she'd do the same for Antonia. Antonia grows up tall, slender, and indifferent to acting ladylike. Pelagia understands that in their...
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...hadn't realized that the sunshine was hurting his depressing poetry. During his stay, Pelagia, Drosoula, Antonia, and Dr. Iannis do well for themselves. Their only issue is that they adopt a...
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...she sees Corelli at the far end of her courtyard. She quickly puts the infant Antonia down and runs to meet him, but he disappears. Pelagia calls for him but can't...
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Chapter 65. 1953
...scorned as a witch for trying to heal. She pretends that she's Italian and raises Antonia to speak Italian. Right after the civil war, Pelagia buys a radio that only picks...
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...the well, though it quickly disappears. Dr. Iannis discovers his screwdriver is suddenly magnetic, and Antonia finds hedgehogs, owls, and other animals in plain sight outside. Dogs bay, things inexplicably fall...
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...priest runs through the streets cursing God, but another aftershock strikes. Finally, Drosoula, Pelagia, and Antonia stand outside and look at what's left of the house. Dr. Iannis is crushed inside.
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Chapter 68. The Resurrection of the History
Drosoula, Pelagia, and Antonia become even closer, but Pelagia wallows in guilt and remorse. She fixates on the fact...
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At breakfast the next morning, Drosoula and Antonia brightly discuss that they had dreams about Dr. Iannis the night before. They tell a...
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...appropriate for dealing with problems. Drosoula won't listen, so Pelagia sits up late with teenage Antonia and they discuss politics and philosophy.
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Pelagia torments Antonia and repeatedly tells her that when Antonia is old, she'll see that her mother is...
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Chapter 69. Bean by Bean the Sack Fills
...traveling or if they're from Corelli, but reasons they're both dead. She keeps them anyway. Antonia teases Pelagia about a secret boyfriend to distract from her own romance. While working at...
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Eventually, Pelagia forgives Antonia for smoking and wearing pants. In 1967 and 1973, Pelagia lives briefly with Antonia when...
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...him into the type of bourgeois person he publically professes to hate. At age 34, Antonia finally gives in and allows herself to become pregnant. She gives birth to a little...
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Chapter 70. Excavation
...six languages because he spends so much time with Pelagia at the taverna. Alexi and Antonia, meanwhile, invest in building more apartments and opening souvenir shops in a number of towns....
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...that Iannis learn the mandolin, as Iannis isn't big enough to play the bouzouki. Both Antonia and Alexi agree to buy Iannis a mandolin in Athens or Naples when they're there...
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Chapter 73. Restitution
...got married and Pelagia laments that she's old and ugly now. She reminds Corelli that Antonia could've been the product of rape and tells him about shooting Mandras. Corelli shows Pelagia...
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