place

Spain

also: Испания

The country in which the story is set, evoked through the machinery of the Inquisition and its witch trials.

Reading notes

The Sinner from Toledo §3 Spain
The story is set in an unspecified earlier era of Spanish history, evoked through the machinery of the Inquisition and its witch trials.
To M. P. Chekhova, 16 March 1891. Petersburg. §4 as for the Spanish scarves, please put that concern aside for now
A running domestic errand: Masha had evidently asked Chekhov to bring back Spanish scarves (косынки) from the upcoming trip; since the itinerary (Vienna, Venice, on through Italy) is unlikely to reach Spain, he asks her to set the request aside rather than promising to fulfill it.