Another thing that struck her, which might have opened her eyes to this subject, is the fact that these women did not envy her but felt sorry for her. “And the chastening realization that the women had pitied me. Pitied me, college-educated, adequately dressed and fed, free to vote and to travel, happily married to a husband of my own choice who was also a friend and companion,”. It was seen as a misfortune that she was skinny, had shorter hair, no children, no mother and no gold. These women did not see themselves as being secluded from the outside world, where they could have limitless choices, and this was mind-boggling to Fernea. She concluded that these two cultures were, and still are essentially, too stubborn to see each other's side of the story. This was a problem for Fernea, since she ended up questioning what the point of their study was if this gap between cultures would only widen.