Patcherta

The novel tells the story of a single week in the life of the Vaikai family, reflecting their life many years ago. The husband, Akush Vaikai, lives with his wife and daughter, Pachrta, in a house in a small, boring town called Charsag. The reader quickly learns that Pachrta is no longer young, but rather thirty-five, and very ugly, which is a great concern for the parents; she may never find a husband, and they are already old and could die at any moment. So their main concern is to hide their daughter's ugliness and protect her from the world.
There is great excitement in the family right now; Pachterta is preparing to travel to Tarko Farm where her uncle Bella's family lives for a week. She will be away from them for the first time. Her parents prepare their daughter for the trip with a sense of dread. It has been a long time since they went anywhere, and they have not been together in years. They go to church alone, embarrassed by Pachterta's ugliness, which makes them feel very uncomfortable because people make fun of her. They take Pachterta to the train station and say goodbye. During the week, the parents feel a sense of relief they have never felt before. Yes, they miss their daughter, but now they can meet up with old friends and go out together again without any fear of embarrassment.
Once, the husband was gambling with his friends, drinking alcohol at a restaurant, and staying very late. His wife, who was waiting at home, had no idea where he was, as he usually came home before midnight. When the husband returned home, he quarrelled with his wife. While slightly drunk, he spoke very frankly about his daughter's ridiculous condition, saying that perhaps it would be better for them if she traveled and not stay home. From the mother's words, it becomes clear that she knows the husband is right, as their daughter is very ugly and distasteful, and therefore it is difficult for her to adapt to society or find a place for herself in it. However, she vehemently defends her daughter and tries to instill hope in her husband, and even in herself first.
The week passes, and the parents head together to the train station to pick up their daughter. The train is late, and they start to think bad things, but Patcherta eventually arrives. The father senses that not all is well with Patcherta. He realizes that his daughter was actually a burden on everyone at her uncle's farm, that she couldn't fit in there, and that even Uncle Bella's guests didn't accept her.
Pachtra lies on her bed in her room and begins to think. She is surprised that her absence from home was in vain. She realizes that although they welcomed her to the farm with love and treated her kindly, she was still an obstacle in everyone's way. She turns the pages of her life, which consists of nothing but cooking, washing, and cleaning every day. She begins to sob, and so that her parents do not hear her crying, she covers her mouth with her pillow, something she has done all her life.
The novel addresses an issue prevalent in our Arab culture today: the late age of marriage for girls and the fear of spinsterhood. It discusses this issue from the perspective of the culture prevalent in Hungary in the second half of the nineteenth century. The novel also touches on some of the behaviors that emerged in society during that period, which were at the time strange to it and denounced by the vast majority of it, especially the elderly who grew up in a world with better morals.