The narrative centers on a shrewd woman who runs a crowded boarding house called Noah’s Ark and cares for a foundling girl nicknamed Loppen. The housekeeper’s improvised medical practice and feud with the town physician shape local attitudes toward healing and class, while Loppen’s recovered eyesight, lighthearted laughter, and uncertain social position illuminate tensions of legitimacy, charity, and hypocrisy. Interactions among tenants, visitors, and authorities reveal contrasts between public respectability and private need, and highlight small acts of care that both ease suffering and expose societal judgment.