Truth, Illusion, and Desire

Szabó uses the mystery of Abigail to investigate the ways in which illusions can eclipse reality as a result of one’s longing for salvation and love, even when the truth presents itself before our very eyes. As the narrator shows throughout the novel, Gina’s romantic notions regarding what is heroic or valuable frequently blind her to the truth, and she conflates heroic behavior with physical beauty. When she meets Kalmár, she swoons over his “noble profile” and “face of a soldier”, likening him to St. George, “the greatest knight-errant of all” (49). She notes that “beauty and bravery [go] hand in hand, as [do] a lackluster appearance and a dull mind” (49), and she associates Kalmár with the “Roman virtues of manly fortitude,” whereas Kőnig is “everything that a virile Roman was not” (82).

When Abigail first intervenes to return Gina...