The story opens with the outspoken Madame Pratolungo, gradually revealing the inner life of Lucilla Finch, a young blind woman. Lucilla falls in love with her enigmatic neighbor Oscar Dubourg, whose past and condition remain uncertain. Repeated contrasts between daylight and candlelight subtly shift perceptions of Oscar’s identity. Incidents involving a clock and a trial suggest how truth can be distorted by belief rather than evidence. This part quietly builds the irony that the woman who cannot see is the one who trusts most absolutely.
