The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Szabó, Magda. The Fawn. New York Review Books Class, 2023.

Magda Szabó's novel The Fawn is set in Budapest, Hungary in 1954. The novel is written from the main character Eszter's first person point of view. Throughout the novel, Eszter addresses her account to her unnamed lover. Because her narrative assumes a stream of consciousness form, the narrative often darts between various temporal eras at once. For the sake of clarity, the following guide adheres to the past tense. The summary below abides by a primarily linear mode of explanation.

Born circa 1928, Eszter grew up in Szolnok, Hungary with her mother and father. The family moved to this town after Eszter's father inherited a local house on an unnamed street. The family came to call the street the Barrage. Although Eszter's family was poor, Eszter became attached to her childhood home. She developed friendships with her neighbors, particularly Ambrus and Gizi. Ambrus was a local bootmaker and Gizi was Eszter's contemporary. Her parents Józsi and Juszti ran the local Three Hussars pub.

Because Eszter's father was almost perpetually ill, he struggled to work and thus support the family. Eszter's mother therefore began teaching piano out of their house. The home was constantly filled with the sound of Eszter's mother's playing. Then one day, Eszter's mother got a new student: Angéla. She and her brother Emil, mother Ilu, and father Domi had recently moved to the area. Although Angéla was sweet, good, and kind, Eszter hated her as soon as she met her.

When Angéla adopted a pet fawn, Eszter started spending time at her house. She became so obsessed with the deer that she snuck onto Angéla's property one night and released it. She had wanted to set the fawn free, but it ended up running onto the train tracks and getting hit by a train. Eszter had not meant to kill it.

When Eszter's father died, Eszter and her mother were overcome with sorrow. However, when their house was bombed during the German occupation of Hungary in 1944, Eszter felt relieved. She was glad that her father was not alive to experience the bombing. She was also glad she and her mother had nothing else to lose in the raids to come.

Eszter moved to Budapest to attend university. Not long into her studies there, the university shut down due to the war. Eszter felt entirely alone. Meanwhile, Angéla had people to care for and protect her.

Over the years following, Eszter established herself as a performer and actress. She had never planned a life on the stage, but soon discovered that the work suited her. On stage, she could be anyone she wanted to be.

Eszter soon started noticing a man attending all of her performances. Even before they were introduced, she was intrigued by him. Not long after they met, Eszter and the man became lovers. Eszter knew that the lover was married, and did not mind. However, she was furious when she learned that the lover was in fact married to her childhood nemesis Angéla.

Eszter and the lover continued seeing one another for several years. Throughout the relationship, Eszter was constantly on edge. She believed the lover loved her, but also worried that he did not truly see or understand her. She knew she could tell him about her family, her past, and her trauma, but was afraid of reliving these stories. She wanted the lover to know her without having to explain herself.

The lover repeatedly proposed to Eszter, insisting that he loved her more than he loved Angéla. Eszter refused the proposals, because she knew the lover was not ready to fully let go of Angéla.

Then one day, the lover was hit by a car and killed. Angéla did not learn of his unfaithfulness to her until after his death. Eszter was overcome by sorrow. She particularly regretted never having shown her true self to the lover. She wondered if he would have been the one person who could have accepted her for who she truly was.