Written between 1896 and 1918, this is a collection of short (and not so short) stories which aim to illustrate Slovak family life at the time. Timrava's focus, and her strength, is concentrated on the female characters. The stories have a strong feminist message, outlining the difficulties of life for young Slovak women. They are not eulogies to women, however, with her characters beset by jealousies and petty rivalries over household chores or potential suitors. There are running themes of marriage, fidelity and jealousy, and the biggest problems of her character are frequently portrayed as being caused by other women.
The honesty and brutality with which Timrava addresses her subjects was admirable, and occasionally refreshing. Stories with nineteenth century sensibilities and narratives about who will marry who frequently annoy me, but there was an edge to Timrava's women that maintained my interest. However, while the attempts to illustrate Slovak life were admirable, the stories were horribly put together. Messy and pointless narratives meandered around the prose before eventually dying hopelessly at the end. I don't mind short stories lacking narrative, but these were hamstrung by the author's need to shove one in and hastily resolve it, creating an apparently unintentional anticlimax at the end of each one. There were sparks of life in this collection, but it isn't one I will be revisiting.