Although this night does not make them into instant friends, it certainly lays the foundation for the friendship that gradually emerges. Shortly after this episode, Magda and her husband find a starving puppy and take it in, with the intention of nourishing it back to health and then giving it away. Emerence and the dog, however, form a very quick and incredibly close bond, and the dog, whom Emerence names Viola (even though it is a male) adds an extra dimension to the relationship between the two women - Magda, the dog's owner, and Emerence, the dog's master. Over the next several years, Magda and Emerence become increasingly close, and start to depend on each other more than either of them could have anticipated. Together, they experience all the drama of the neighbourhood, including the suicide of Pollet, one of Emerence's three close female friends. The two women open up to each other, and Magda learns many details of Emerence's life, including the story of her early life in the same rural region where Magda has family roots. She also learns the story of how Emerence saved the life of the baby Eva Grossman, the daughter of the wealthy Jewish family whose house Emerence cared for before they fled the country. Emerence develops so much trust for Magda that she allows her inside her house, an honour she has bestowed on nobody else in decades, not even her three best friends or her own nephew. Near the end of the story, the always robust Emerence falls ill and is unable to continue to perform her duties. She hides away in her house, allowing entry to nobody. Magda, out of genuine concern, intervenes and arranges to forcibly take Emerence to a hospital to recover. Emerence very nearly recovers, but when she finds out that Magda betrayed her secret by letting the whole street into her closely guarded home, Emerence loses her will to live. Emerence dies in the hospital, and Magda is racked with guilt for the rest of her life. Characters Magda: The narrator of the novel. Magda is a writer who is coming back into favour with the government when the novel begins, but the main focus of the novel is her relationship with Emerence. Unlike Emerence, Magda is sincerely religious Magda's husband: An unnamed academic with whom Magda enjoys a fine relationship. The husband has a serious bout