What is the importance of the city, Amiens, in the novel, A Woman’s Battles and Transformations?

Amiens is the city in northern France where Eddy attends high school. When he is in his early teens, he leaves the village for Amiens. Almost as soon as he arrives in the city, he realizes that he is entering a different social realm. He begins to tailor his behavior, speech, and dress according to this more elitist, monied, and educated environment. Eddy's time in Amiens also grants him perspective on village life, and particularly on his mother's brutal domestic and marital circumstances.