In addition his ability to make a joke in French "un embarras de petit pois- suggests that he's a cultivated man, "He spoke the French words in a mincingly Parisian accent, even though his irony was apparent only to himself-. Though his language and education is definitely more elaborate than that of his patients , we never suspect of him acting superior; on the contrary he treats everyone equally. We feel we are more likely to grow a sympathy towards him, as we feel his character is of a genuine sort, this apparent when his payments are compensated by gifts and food and "offer(s) of sexual intercourse- , rather than money. .
In the first section of the chapter we see Dr. Iannis compelled at work, later, the narrative shifts and we are led into his thoughts through his writing, where for the first time we are presented to the setting of the novel. He indulges in his first challenge writing "The New History of Cephallonia- by illustrating factual information in attempt to evade any personal opinion, however, his writing conveys strong feelings of bitterness, anger and a sense of betrayal: "More Cephallonians abroad or at sea then there are at home- .
Our deductions of him being a genuinely self-cultivated and sophisticated man are in forced in his writing. His long, laborious, and pompous sentences convey strong emotional feelings. This, irritates him because "he could not write like a writer of histories and could not write without passion-.
Besides, leading us into the characters mind, de Bernieres, takes the reader a step further and presents us with the descriptive historical background of Cephallonia, his intention is to create a vivid image of the island for the reader. .
In this first phase of the novel, we start to build up a network of themes that are established by the individual characters. In fact Dr. Iannis' chapter leads us through the ancient history of the Greeks and Cephallonia.
