Bell uses Claudia's situation to outline her theory that women in their twenties do not have a clear sense of self and use sexual adventures to find themselves. Thurman believes similarly by stating in his essay, Wisdom, "the self is only a pretend self, it lacks reality, it doesn't exist" (441). You gain the ability to adapt and become most volatile in accordance to your surroundings. Thurman states that the self is only a pretend self, implying that every individual has multiple identities to associate themselves with. He further states that "it lacks reality." What is reality? Man does not share a collective reality; rather, he views a single perspective. It varies per individuals and their personal circumstances. By identifying oneself with solid characteristics you become defined and therefore confined by social premise and what it implies. Nothing truthfully defines you. One's identity is comprised of self-recognized qualities, but what attributes one chooses to display to society and which ones are kept under cover are personal choices. By defining oneself through common characteristics one must comply to what they entail. Conforming to a strict personality restricts the ability to be fluid and one with the surrounding environments.
Man essentially thrives and lives for the hopes of a successful future. Bell confirms the idea that young adults are met with a plethora of expectations in an in between periods of time between teenagehood and adulthood when they are expected to "find and define themselves" and the great conundrum found within that very theory. She states ,"I take a look at this new in between period of early adulthood for twenty-somethings and how it offers women a mixed bag: opportunities to be sure but also retrograde messages about their identities as sexual beings, partners and future mothers." (Bell 26). She starts by singling out the time period in which women are expected to come of age in a sense.