The fact that Sagan explicitly wrote it sans pseudonym sent a strong message to readers prone to sexist assumptions: unlike earlier authors, from Louisa May Alcott to Charlotte Brontë, Sagan had no qualms about publishing her work without the veil of a masculine pen name. Some critics even speculated that an older, most likely male, author working under a pseudonym must have penned a book as intuitive and polished as hers. Of course, the underlying subtext had to do with the author’s own age and gender. As is the case with most women who rebuke societal rules through their art, Sagan’s book touched a cultural nerve, sparking heated disputes as to whether it was proper for her protagonist – a 17-year-old girl – to speak freely about her sexuality and to engage in open discussions of decidedly ‘adult’ matters.
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