Vassar College

Vassar College is a liberal arts college located in Poughkeepsie, New York, with a very strong arts program. It is the school attended by Lotto and Mathilde, where both study theater. It is at Vassar that Mathilde begins a sexual business arrangement with Ariel, trading sex for tuition. It is also at Vassar that Mathilde and Lotto first meet the night Lotto contemplates suicide. There Lotto proposes marriage Mathilde, and Mathilde accepts. It is early during their relationship and marriage that Mathilde continues her sexual arrangement with Ariel, which Lotto learns about years later.

New York City

New York City is the largest city in the United States, and is located in the State of New York. It is known for its commercial and cultural nature. Lotto and Mathilde move to New York after marrying and graduating from college. They spend much of the next two decades...