Vienna

Vienna is the primary setting of the novel. The narrator lives here in a small apartment on the Ungargasse. She believes that Vienna is the only place to live, and feels grounded in her life here. However, the narrator rarely leaves her apartment, and when Malina and Ivan are out of town, the narrator hates the city, believing it charmless and dead.

Ungargasse 6

Ungargasse 6 is the narrator's home address. She lives in this apartment with Malina. Though Ivan knows that she and Malina live together, the narrator does everything in her power to keep the men apart.

The narrator spends the majority of the novel at home alone. She sits, smoking and waiting for the phone to ring. She takes baths, lies on the floor, and reads books. At other times, she argues with her secretary and housekeeper, or writes letters she does not plan on sending.

When...