Through characters like Rosacoke Mustian, Wesley Beavers, Kate Vaiden and Blue Calhoun, Price introduced us to men and women — and critics praised Price for his deep understanding of women's nature — who, in some cases, were tentatively taking their first steps toward the secrets of adulthood, and in others were struggling to discover their freedom and identity in a world that would just as soon keep them imprisoned in
narrow cultural stereotypes.