Moscow becomes a metaphor and symbol of the "marriage trade". Moscow is the center of Russian society and culture. Eugene becomes disillusioned with society's games while in Moscow, and when Tatyana comes to Moscow, it is because her mother is trying to find her a husband at Moscow's "marriage market". Tatyana eventually is absorbed into a high place in Moscow's society, not because she desires it, but because her mother bothers her and bothers her until she chooses a husband.