Although the story itself takes place entirely in Boston, Howard and Georgiana's farm in Nebraska is a pervasive presence in "A Wagner Matinée," where it serves as a symbol of the many hardships of life on the American frontier. As Clark describes it, the farm is a place where it is difficult for life to grow and flourish:the turkeys are "gaunt," and the trees are "dwarfs."It is also a place devoid of ornamentation or even variation, where "one might walk from daybreak to dusk without perceiving a shadow of change." This monotony, combined with a life of unending and demanding physical labor, contributes to the emotional and spiritual emptiness of Georgiana's life on the frontier.

One of the most pervasive motifs in "A Wagner Matinée" is sleep, which—at a basic level—functions as a metaphor for the life Georgiana has led for the past three decades. Cut off from the world of art, Georgiana has focused largely on the concrete and mundane work needed to keep a household running: cooking, washing, stitching, caring for children, etc. Although these tasks have not—as Clark initially suspects—entirely destroyed her ability to experience music in intense and even spiritual ways, they have lulled her into a state of outward indifference; when she first arrives in Boston, "the place longed for hungrily half a lifetime," Clark describes her as "semi-somnambulant.