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Tracy Kidder
An intelligent young British woman who falls in love with Paul Farmer when she’s doing charity work in Haiti. Ophelia Dahl comes from markedly different circumstances than Farmer—she’s the daughter of the famous children’s author Roald Dahl, and grew up in luxury. Although she finds it somewhat difficult to adjust to a life of poverty in Haiti, she finds a friend in Farmer and the two become lovers. Over many years, Ophelia comes to know Farmer very well—sometimes, she’s in awe of his intellect and selflessness, but at other times, she’s exasperated by his Stoicism and willingness to endanger his own life. Farmer proposes marriage to Ophelia, but she refuses: Farmer’s commitment to helping the poor is simply too much for her to handle. In the end, Ophelia becomes Farmer’s good friend and confidant, as well as the treasurer of his charity, Partners in Health.
Ophelia Dahl Quotes in Mountains Beyond Mountains
The Mountains Beyond Mountains quotes below are all either spoken by Ophelia Dahl or refer to Ophelia Dahl. 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:
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Chapter 7 Quotes
For a long time I thought I could live and work in Haiti, carving out a life with you, but now I understand that I can’t. And that’s simply not compatible with your life—the life you once told me you would like to lead even ten years ago.
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Chapter 9 Quotes
On the way back they laughed about the incident, and yet of all the times she’d eaten things that she could hardly bear to look at, this one occasion when she failed the test stood out for her.
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Ophelia Dahl Character Timeline in Mountains Beyond Mountains
The timeline below shows where the character Ophelia Dahl appears in Mountains Beyond Mountains. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 7
...Farmer received from a woman he wanted to marry. In the letter, a woman named Ophelia Dahl tells Farmer that she can’t possibly provide Farmer with the life he wants, despite...
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Kidder explains that Farmer met Ophelia Dahl in 1983, when they were both working at Eye Care Haiti. Ophelia, a well-to-do...
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As Ophelia spent more time with Farmer, she came to see that he was charming, sensitive, and...
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Within a few months, Farmer and Ophelia became lovers. Farmer wrote her a poem called “The Mango Lady,” about the woman in...
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In late spring, Ophelia headed back to her home in England, having finished her work in Haiti for the...
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Chapter 9
In 1985, Ophelia flew back to Haiti to see Farmer. By this point, Farmer was comfortable with his...
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Ophelia loved spending the summer with Farmer. And yet she couldn’t help but notice the differences...
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During his time with Ophelia, Farmer threw himself into the design of his new hospital. He conducted a new health...
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Chapter 10
For the second half of the 80s, Ophelia visits Farmer in Haiti every summer. Although Ophelia treasures her time with Farmer, she finds...
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...shifts to the military, and things remain more or less the same. Once, Farmer and Ophelia are in Port-au-Prince when shots break out: the army is breaking up a political demonstration....
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In 1988, Ophelia comes to live with Farmer in Boston, where Farmer is busy with his clinical rotations....
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...weeks in the hospital with a broken leg. In the hospital, he tries to convince Ophelia to come with him to do charity work in Haiti. Ophelia is sure that Farmer...
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In the early 90s, Farmer proposes to Ophelia, and she turns him down. Hurt, Farmer tells Ophelia that he can’t see her—it would...
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Chapter 12
Ophelia travels to Cange in the early 1990s, at the time of Haiti’s military junta. She’s...
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Chapter 19
...planned all along—he has little money left as he approaches the end of his life. Ophelia, who is now responsible for PIH’s budget, warns of a funding crisis: PIH needs to...
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Jim Kim, Farmer, and Ophelia devise a bold new strategy. Using their success with treating MDR, PIH will raise money...
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Chapter 24
...he tells Kim that there’s “real work” to be done in Moscow. Kim, Farmer, and Ophelia argue, and Kidder is amazed—he can’t remember seeing Farmer lose his temper before. Later, Ophelia...
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Chapter 26
...to be cared for, one would be placing a relative value on human life. Once, Ophelia told Kidder that Farmer’s ”small gestures,” such as his house calls, “add up” over time.
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