The novel, and the readers, have to do that for me. Nora's life is unveiled over the course of the book. Although she marries and has a child, she doesn't seem truly engaged in life unless she's corresponding with her beloved cousin Bela or spending time in his presence. Nora is the sort of woman who is capable of intense feeling, but she'll never show it. Her detachment is what keeps her away from what she loves, and it also may be what keeps her sane during a time when vulnerability was not rewarded.
Dramatic tension is, in many ways, about postponing resolution.
Nora is a great postponer. She postpones telling Bela how she feels about him. She postpones leaving Hungary for Palestine. If she just did everything at once, there would be no novel at all. Nora's brief life with her husband Janos results in the birth of her son Gabor.