During Weldon's era of rapid technological progress, the increasing commercialization of mass media promoted a conformist "fad" mentality. Weldon's hissy phrase “easy and tasty substances of the screen” denigrates the popularity of television in the 1980s and subsequent non-individual thinking. This produces a society of “wacky looks,” paralleling Austen's view of the flawed priorities of Regency England, evident through their social stratification. In contrast, Weldon's extended metaphor of the “City of Invention” as “our immortal home” promotes the illuminating power of canonical literature and its ability to help achieve empathy. However, with his condescending “You [Alice] have sold more copies…than me of all my novels” tone, Weldon ironically criticizes himself for undermining the power of authors and didactics, indicating the inherent self-reflection in achieving self-improvement, mirroring its prevalence in Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Paralleling the union of Elizabeth and Darcy, Aunt Fay's didactic tone "readers...need an example they can examine and understand for themselves" is demonstrative of the role of both introspection and literature in gaining insights and in promoting personal growth. Together, Weldon and Austen synchronously demonstrate the need for self-reflection against the superficiality of parallelism