Prose is careful to begin her essay by speaking on the friendly common ground of parenthood. As she continues, her role as educator and English professor becomes a stronger persona; the way she presents research she has done establishes this ethos (para. 29 is a striking example). She also speaks as a reader, someone who loves books, especially fiction, and learns from them; the section on her reading of King Lear is particularly germane to this persona (paras. 30 and 31). By the last few paragraphs, she speaks as an informed citizen, perhaps even a social critic, as she makes the case for the long-term impact of commercialism and commodification of literature on our culture.
