New York is a briefly mentioned business destination in the narrator’s account, not a developed setting. He travels there from Schruns to rearrange his publishers; after completing that business, he returns to Paris, where personal attachment disrupts his planned return to Austria.

Business Purpose

The narrator says that leaving Schruns for New York was necessary so he could rearrange his publishers. He reports completing his business there, but gives no account of meetings, publishing decisions, or the city itself. New York’s significance in the passage is therefore practical: it is the place where he goes to address his publishing arrangements.

A Link in the Journey

The journey connects Schruns, New York, Paris, and Austria. After returning to Paris, the narrator believes he should have taken the first train from the Gare de l’Est that would carry him south to Austria. Instead, because the woman he loved was in Paris, he misses the first train, then the second and third. New York is thus a short stop within a larger itinerary whose direction is altered after he gets back to Paris.

Narrative Significance

The passage gives New York no visual or social portrait; its role is defined by the business conducted there and by what happens after the narrator leaves. The contrast is between the trip’s stated necessity—rearranging publishers—and the personal delay that follows in Paris. The city marks a completed obligation, while the missed trains reveal that the narrator’s next choice is governed by love rather than schedule.