Baltimore

This is the largest city in the American state of Maryland is the setting for much of the novel's action.

The Davitch House

This is the house in which Rebecca lives, and in which the Davitch family runs its business, is frequently described in the narrative as in a constant state of disrepair. Plaster falls off the walls, curtain rods fall away from the windows they frame, and floors creak and shift.

Church Valley

This is the small town in rural Maryland is where Rebecca grew up, and to which she returns to visit her mother and aunt. Her trip is both a literal and metaphorical representation of her desire to return to her past in the wake of her discovery that she is unhappy about her present.

Rivers

Throughout the narrative, the constant motion and relative tranquility of flowing rivers metaphorically suggests to the reader that...