To what extent is any given man morally responsible for any given act? We do not know.
I mean, artistic processes are all about making choices all the time, and the very act of making a choice is the distilling down and the getting to the core of what it is that you care about and what you want to say, really.
Many women have told me they remember where they were when they read the book, and how they felt suddenly that what they really thought or felt about things made sense.