Summary

Abigail is divided into 24 chapters, each of which centers on a particular event in Gina’s time at the school, culminating in her dramatic departure. Chapters 1 through 6 cover Gina’s orientation to the Bishop Matula Academy, her quarrels with her new classmates, and her decision to run away for the first time.

Chapter 1 begins as Gina prepares to leave her home in Budapest for the Calvinist Bishop Matula Academy, in the provincial town of Árkod. Gina’s father, known throughout the novel as only the General, has arranged for Gina to transfer to her new school with no warning, and he orders her to leave Budapest the very next day without being able to say good-bye to any of her friends or her suitor, the dashing young Lieutenant Feri Kuncz. Distraught and taken by surprise, Gina reflects on the people and spaces dear...