The narrator knows for a fact that Leni is “an unrecognized genius of sensuality,” but at the same time he found out that throughout her life the heroine was close to a man about twenty-five times at most—while many men still desire her. She loves dancing and often dances half-naked or completely naked; she plays the piano and has “achieved some skill”—at least, she plays Schubert’s two études brilliantly. As for food, she loves the freshest buns and smokes no more than eight cigarettes a day.
And here’s what else the author managed to learn: her neighbors think Leni is a prostitute, probably because they don’t understand her. And one more thing: she sees the Virgin Mary on her television screen almost every day, “each time surprised that the Virgin Mary is also a blonde and also not that young.” They look at each other and smile…