Newark, New Jersey

Newark, New Jersey, is presented through its Fifth Ward as a place where violence and the anonymity of the streets shape how a victim might be perceived. Nash brings Marianne there after they begin together in a bar in Teaneck, intending that she be mistaken for an unknown woman killed in the district.

Setting and Reputation

The narrative describes the Fifth Ward as a poor district known for street prostitution and murders. It also gives Newark a per-capita murder rate three times that of nearby New York City, emphasizing the scale of violence associated with the setting. This reputation is not merely background: it supplies the conditions Nash expects will make Marianne’s identity harder to recognize.

Role in Marianne’s Story

Nash’s movement with Marianne from a bar in Teaneck to Newark marks a change from their initial setting to a place he believes can conceal her. He assaults her and deliberately alters her appearance, while stopping short of removing every identifying feature; erasing them all, he reasons, would make the attempt to hide her identity too conspicuous. The location therefore serves his plan to have Marianne mistaken for an unknown victim, rather than simply providing a backdrop for the crime.

Narrative Significance

Newark’s portrayal links place, reputation, and concealment: the city’s association with murder gives Nash’s plan its apparent logic, while the deliberate staging of Marianne’s appearance exposes the calculation behind it. The contrast between the two locations—starting in a Teaneck bar and ending in the Fifth Ward—also gives the journey a clear narrative turn, from an encounter to an effort to obscure who Marianne is.