Budapest

Budapest is the city in Hungary where the majority of the narrative action takes place. This is the city where Eszter lives and works as an actress in the narrative present. After leaving her childhood home in Szolnok, she relocated to Budapest to attend university. Although the war disrupted her time in school during this era, Eszter remained in the capital city.

When Eszter first moved to Budapest, she felt at odds with the place. Having grown up in the country, she often missed more rural environments. In Chapter 7, she admits that "I have never been able to adapt to the city, with its multi-story houses and narrow little courtyards" (122). In spite of the lover's attachment to the urban, Eszter has "always rejected the idea of spending the greater part of the day seeing only a tiny square of sky" between the buildings (122). However, because Eszter has not...