 In her analysis of Miller's fiction, Rose Secrest connects this theme directly to one of Miller's earlier short fiction works, quoting a passage from "The Ties that Bind", published in the May 1954 edition of If magazine: "All societies go through three phases .... First there is the struggle to integrate in a hostile environment. Then, after integration, comes an explosive expansion of the culture-conquest .... Then a withering of the mother culture, and the rebellious rise of young cultures."
