It seems particularly appropriate at a time when rioting mobs have been testing society's wider fears and setting off hand-wringing in the chattering classes.
While her earlier works largely focus on society's failings and responsibilities, in this work she turns inward, explicitly arguing for the value of personal experience.
Additionally, there is a cynical view of mankind and a need for power and toughness resulting from the anxieties produced by perceived lapses in society's conventional norms (destructiveness and cynicism).
