Wisconsin

The American state of Wisconsin, in the upper Midwest near the Great Lakes, is the setting for much of the novel's action. The pressures of its climate and isolation are primary factors in the mindset of many of the background characters.

The Wisconsin Winter

The long, cold, and dark Wisconsin winter is an important contextual trigger for the undercurrent of madness that threads its way through the novel's background action.

Truitt's House

This is the house where Catherine is brought as Truitt's new bride and strikes her on first glance as surprisingly appealing. Furnished in an unusual but comfortable mix of the rustic and expensive, she spends much of her time there after she arrives moving from room to room, restless and staring out its windows into the winter.

The Italian House

In order to please his Italian wife Emilia, Truitt spends a fortune designing and building...