This story is set in the mid-1960s, when the phenomenon of college-educated women was still a relatively new one. The chaotic process by which Marian found a roommate speaks to the idea that both of these young women are walking an unfamiliar path, experiencing young adulthood differently than perhaps their own mothers did. It is also worth noting that Marian pays such careful attention to advertisements, finding it easier to stare at posters for products than to talk to her roommate. The subtle, insidious prevalence of consumerism will eventually become one of the novel’s major themes.