Usage of the setting to the character

I believe what the author does so well in the story is that he doesn't reveal the character’s true identity till later on in the story. The characters actions reflect on what they do, but in this particular instance the environment they are in is what defines the identity of the characters. In most traditional story telling the environment only plays the role of what the characters walking through, but the setting plays a role in the decision making of what the characters do as the result of what the environment does to them. A scene that I believe is an example is the scene where Pierre is forced to take Adeline because there is really no other route to escape.