I am a feminist. I'm trying to show the relationships between men and women, always the structural relations, not individual villains. I'd never make a husband a villain. I try very hard in my work not to - because if I made one man a villain, the rest would be off the hook. I'm interested in the system of oppression.

It's always difficult to write honestly of one's deepest feelings, particularly without the protective veil of fiction. But the more difficult, the more rewarding if one succeeds. Rewarding not only to the work but to one's peace of mind.

In my books, my idea is always to explore social context and social forces.

For two years I watched my parents' lives wind to a close. This made me aware of old age as a one stage, the final one, of a long journey.

For many decades my relations with my parents constituted unfinished business. I had dealt with them through sheer avoidance and guilt.

Usually, ordinary histories don't get the emotional feel of a period. That's what a novel can do.

Solitude offers a lot that being coupled or being in a group does not. It helps us learn what we are capable of.