New York State

New York State is one of the 13 founding states of the USA that had been British colonies before their independence in 1776. In 2018, New York State had an estimated population of 19,542,209 people. The capital city of New York State is Albany. More than four-fifth of the state’s population live in big cities like New York City, Buffalo, and Rochester. The constituent state borders Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec to the west and north. To the east, New York State is bounded by Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut whereas it borders the Atlantic Ocean and New Jersey to the southeast and shares its southern border with Pennsylvania. All in all, the state spreads over 54,555 square miles.[1]

New York State is the overall setting of “Atrophy”. The story begins when “the express plunged out of the Grand Central Station”[2] which is located in New York City. Nora Frenway leaves the train one station before it arrives in Albany. When Nora has to get out of the train, she is in a hurry and worries that “she should be carried on to Albany."[3] Moreover, the fictional places Westover, Ockham, and Oakfield are meant to be in New York State. Westover and Ockham are fictional train stations of a railroad that connects Grand Central Terminal with Albany. Oakfield is the exact place where Christopher Aldis lives. Also the real places mentioned in the story (Albany, Grand Central Station, Long Island, and Maybrook) are all located in New York State.

Sources:

[1] Campbell, Alan K., and Paul J. Scudiere. “New York. State, United States.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, 17 Oct. 2019, www.britannica.com/place/New-York-state. Accessed 18 Oct. 2019.

[2] Lewis, R. W. B. The Collected Short Stories of Edith Wharton. (Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1968. 501-510. Print), 501.

[3] lbid., 504.

Image:

Pierre-Auguste Renoir: La Loge. 1874. https://1tq45j21k9qr27g1703pgsja-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/renoir-1280x640.jpg