hits her, too. Her financial situation has changed proportionally to the general situation, i.e., it has remained the same as far as [her position on] the social ladder is concerned. However, it has deteriorated significantly in absolute terms. Her father deals in leather accessories on Nalewki Street. It is difficult to pinpoint the exact character of his business activities, but he is neither the richest nor the poorest resident of the tenement. Their diet seems perfectly average, but as for clothing, Miss Ewa pays incomparably more attention to her choice of clothes and even aims at a certain level of elegance. It seems that she spends a large portion of her earnings on tailoring and refreshing her dresses. She looks rather nice. She has lost quite a lot of weight, but considering her heavy frame this represents an improvement. Besides, you can see a certain animation and youthfulness in her, which you would not have found in the past.
Her days are quite monotonous. In the morning she scrupulously does her chores. She tutors before and after mid-day. Then she takes care of the matters of the House Committee, i.e., she attends meetings, runs various errands, or simply discusses matters of the tenement with people involved with the Committee. She occasionally plays bridge with her collaborators in the evening. Weekends are different from week days because she does not teach. But she has more meetings and bridge is a must. Sometimes there also is a concert or other form of moderate cultural entertainment.
Before the war she was a frequent and enthusiastic theatregoer. She especially enjoyed serious drama. I remember that she was particularly amazed by Adwentowicz’s performance in Ibsen’s plays.337 She also liked music and never missed a symphonic concert on a Sunday morning. What remains from those days is her interest in music. Now, however, she has hobbies that she did not have before the war. The House Committee has organized a few parties. Miss Ewa has participated in all of them and consequently has had the opportunity to learn to dance and to tolerate dance music. Moreover, she sometimes goes with her friends to a café, obviously not too often and not to the cheapest ones. Before the war she did not play cards at all. But now bridge has become her passion. And as before the war, she does not drink alcohol.
