Placid

Placid is a small town in Wisconsin, near the Wisconsin River, and is home to Georgie, Agatha, their family, as well as to the McCabes and Benjamin Olmstead. Placid has justly earned its name: it is a quiet, peaceful town full of good and kind people. Placid is everything that Georgie wants out of life, but it is not enough to make her sister, Agatha, happy. For Agatha, Placid does not give her enough opportunities (though her mind changes when she falls for Benjamin Olmstead, who can offer her more).

The symbolic importance of the name “Placid” itself, meaning peaceful, perfect, and calm –is clearly a stand-in for the Garden of Eden and childhood. Georgie’s life has been full of primarily good things, and her leaving Placid –leaving Eden –will expose her to the horrors of the world. As she moves into her teenage years (essentially womanhood...