Through this extremely personal composition, Klein exposes the viewer to a private moment with his wife. This feeling of intimacy is not only caused by the female subject of the composition, namely Kohn Piroska, but also because the act of reading is considered an introspective and intimate activity. From a modern perspective, the act of reading takes a woman out of the submissive role into a setting where personal amusement, knowledge and contentment is literally in her reach.

Klein, with his quick, transparent, free brushstrokes and light colors, combined with the mixture of cubist and fauvist elements and folk art patterns, characteristic of his technique from the Parisian period, seeks to represent the sense of modern life he and his wife experienced in Paris.

If one looks closely, there are some details which stand out, questioning the atmosphere of the scene. Maybe in an attempt to domesticate his wife, Klein painted her with a slightly hunched back and modest clothing, so perhaps immersing herself in the book represents a diversion from the unknown future that lies ahead of them.

This composition greatly differs from the subsequent works of Klein, where the majority of his paintings represent the working class and the difficult life they must endure, permanently marked by labor.