Black Dobbe

Black Dobbe is Dr. Fischelson's only neighbor in his garret apartment. A "spinster," she is described as:

tall and lean, and as black as a baker's shovel. She had a broken nose and there was a mustache on her upper lip. She spoke with the hoarse voice of a man and she wore men's shoes.

Black Dobbe sells cracked eggs in the market place. She "had no luck with men." Several times, she had been engaged, but each one was eventually broken off. She has a cousin in America, who writes her promises to send for her, but this seems to be an empty gesture, as he never does. When Black Dobbe knocks on Dr. Fischelson's door to ask him to read a letter to her (she cannot read), she discovers him sick in bed. She nurses him back to health, and encourages their engagement by demonstrating...