Map is taken from Cesar-Francois Cassini's Carte de Cassini (1789)
Caux is a strange place in Romance of the Forest, and I mention it here more to highlight its peculiarity than to offer solid conclusions. It is on the road to "Caux" that Adeline's father is abducted and brought to the Abbey (128). It is also at an inn in the city of Caux that Theodore and Adeline spend the night after escaping the Marquis' chateau, here that Theodore fights the Marquis, and here that the Marquis remains injured for a considerable length of time" (212, 305).
The city of Caux itself is located just north of Montpellier, while the region of Caux (le pays de Caux) is located in the north of France. Both of these are, of course, not the actual site of any of these events--the one being too far south, and the other too far in the wrong direction.
The city of Caux seems to swirl around vital events in the story, however: on the one hand, it is the site of the abduction of Adeline's father (without which there would be no gothic novel); on the other, it is the site of the infraction that puts Theodore in prison, spiraling the events toward the final discovery of Adeline's identity.
The city of Caux itself is located just north of Montpellier, while the region of Caux (le pays de Caux) is located in the north of France. Both of these are, of course, not the actual site of any of these events--the one being too far south, and the other too far in the wrong direction.
The city of Caux seems to swirl around vital events in the story, however: on the one hand, it is the site of the abduction of Adeline's father (without which there would be no gothic novel); on the other, it is the site of the infraction that puts Theodore in prison, spiraling the events toward the final discovery of Adeline's identity.
