Stillwater College

Stillwater College is a rural Virginia all-girls’ college in central Virginia. It is known for the massive pond which borders campus, across which Lee lives in an old house. Stillwater is a pleasant, inviting, and relaxing college and is the perfect place for Lee to write his poetry, run the Stillwater Review, and to teach classes. Peggy attends school at Stillwater, and it is there that she and Lee begin a sexual affair that leads to marriage and family. Meant originally as an escape and a chance to better her education, Peggy ends up feeling trapped by Lee and the college, ultimately driving their car into the lake, damaging the lakebed, and causing it to drain.

Virginia backwater

The Virginia backwater country is where Peggy and Mireille move when Peggy leaves Lee. There, they find an old, abandoned cabin and set it up as home. They assume...