The narrator, drawn to social outcasts, seeks out Melitta Rudloff and traces her early habits of lying and theft, expulsions from households, and the death of her father that deepens her isolation. The account explores Mette’s self-image and her fraught relationship with Olga Radó, whose proud, transgressive demeanor provokes hostility, while a circle of acquaintances responds with analysis, pity, and moral judgment. Luminous childhood memories and vivid sensory detail contrast with a clinical, observant voice that examines stigma, desire, and the lives of the marginalized.