Thalia Character Analysis in And the Mountains Echoed

A calm, intelligent woman who appears during Chapter Eight. Ever since being bitten by a dog as a child, Thalia has borne a brutal facial injury, one that makes the people in her life uncomfortable around her, at least initially. When her mother, Madaline, brings her to live with Markos and Odelia, Thalia develops a close friendship with Markos that stays strong for the rest of her life. Thalia is instrumental in encouraging Markos to become a photographer, and later a plastic surgeon. While Markos frequently offers Thalia free plastic surgery, which could remove her injury for good, Thalia always refuses any such procedure: she’s proud of her body and her life.

Thalia Character Timeline in And the Mountains Echoed

The timeline below shows where the character Thalia appears in And the Mountains Echoed. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...home from the clinic where he works and finds a message from a woman named Thalia, in which Thalia insists that the narrator call his mother. Thalia wants to know how... (full context)

Markos jumps back to explain how he met Thalia. They met in 1967, when he was only 12 years old. Thalia and her mother,... (full context)

When Madaline and Thalia arrived in Markos’s home, Madaline introduced the two children. Markos noticed that Thalia was wearing... (full context)

...and finds it hard to hold anything for longer than a few seconds. At home, Thalia helps her get around the house. (full context)

As a child, Markos was fascinated and horrified by Thalia’s appearance. Madaline and Thalia would visit Tinos often, and though Thalia was usually careful not... (full context)

When Markos was a child, Odelia told him to spend more time with Thalia. When Markos protested that Thalia was a “monster,” Odelia angrily told him never to use... (full context)

Time, Memory, Forgetting, and Art Theme Icon

Thalia and Markos spent more time together, but only because Markos didn’t enjoy being around Odelia... (full context)

Several days after their conversation about photography, Thalia and Markos are standing in Markos’s house. Markos is preparing to take some photographs of... (full context)

The next day, Markos assembles Odelia, Thalia, and Madaline on the beach near his house. He directs them to stand still and... (full context)

...leaving her money (a large amount, given her first marriage to a powerful general) to Thalia. Because Thalia doesn’t want all this money, she gives half of it to Markos, telling... (full context)

Markos remembers other times when he’s jealously guarded the photograph of Thalia. Once, in South America, he realized that he’d lost the photograph in the middle of... (full context)

...He also learned that a thief had taken all his possessions—except for the photograph of Thalia. Delirious, Markos thought to himself that he didn’t want to die so far from Thalia.... (full context)

The narrative returns to Markos’s childhood, when Madaline and Thalia were visiting Tinos. Madaline announces that she’s leaving Tinos, leaving Thalia to live with Markos... (full context)

Madaline leaves Thalia in Tinos with Markos and Odelia. Thalia doesn’t seem very sad to see her mother... (full context)

Madaline sends word to Odelia that her film’s shoot is delayed—Thalia will have to stay in Tinos for longer than expected. Thalia immediately recognizes that Madaline... (full context)

The narrative cuts ahead to 2002, more than thirty years after Thalia’s letter arrives. Markos discovers that Madaline has died. He learns that she was a successful... (full context)

...finishes medical school, Markos decides to become a plastic surgeon. He realizes, partly because of Thalia’s advice, that physical appearances are extremely important, in contrast to what many people idealistically say.... (full context)

Some time in the 2000s, Markos arrives in Tinos, and Thalia picks him up from his ferry. He’s returned to Greece from Kabul for a brief... (full context)

Thalia takes Markos back to his old house, where his mother still lives. Inside the house,... (full context)

The next day, around ten-thirty in the morning, Markos, Odelia, and Thalia gather outside to watch the eclipse. As the eclipse proceeds, Markos notice that his mother... (full context)