Paris

Paris is the setting for the initial chapters of the novel. It is where Sophie chooses to live after she separates from Ezra. When Sophie arrives in Paris, she discovers that her apartment building is still under construction, an image that will resonate symbolically with other images of buildings being either built or torn down. Paris—specifically the Avenue Georges V in the 18th arrondissement (10)—is also the location of Sophie's enigmatic death and decapitation.

New York City

New York City plays a central role in the novel, and it features as a setting in both Sophie's adolescence, and in her life after her separation from Ezra. Sophie first arrives in New York City in 1942 at the Hotel Park Plaza where her father is living. It is in New York City where the "nightmare ends" (161) for Sophie since coming to America. This has to do with the portrayal...