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Madaline
The mother of Markos Varvaris, Odelia Varvaris is a strong, tough, and often seemingly emotionless woman. Although she takes good care of Markos, and later of Thalia, Odelia has a difficult time expressing her love and pride in other people. Her Stoicism causes Markos to experience identity crises for many years. Ultimately, shortly after being diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, she tells her son that she’s extremely proud of him—words which fill Markos with pride, but also remind him of the loving relationship he and his mother have been missing for years.
Odelia Varvaris Quotes in And the Mountains Echoed
The And the Mountains Echoed quotes below are all either spoken by Odelia Varvaris or refer to Odelia Varvaris. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 8
Quotes
“You’ve made me proud, Markos.”
I am fifty-five years old. I have waited all my life to hear those words. Is it too late now for this? For us? Have we squandered too much for too long, Mamá and I? Part of me thinks it is better to go on as we have, to act as though we don’t know how ill suited we have been for each other. Less painful that way. Perhaps better than this belated offering. This fragile, trembling little glimpse of how it could have been between us. All it will beget is regret, I tell myself, and what good is regret? It brings back nothing. What we have lost is irretrievable.
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Odelia Varvaris Quotes in And the Mountains Echoed
The And the Mountains Echoed quotes below are all either spoken by Odelia Varvaris or refer to Odelia Varvaris. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 8
Quotes
“You’ve made me proud, Markos.”
I am fifty-five years old. I have waited all my life to hear those words. Is it too late now for this? For us? Have we squandered too much for too long, Mamá and I? Part of me thinks it is better to go on as we have, to act as though we don’t know how ill suited we have been for each other. Less painful that way. Perhaps better than this belated offering. This fragile, trembling little glimpse of how it could have been between us. All it will beget is regret, I tell myself, and what good is regret? It brings back nothing. What we have lost is irretrievable.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
