A man can go from being a lover to being a stranger in three moves flat but a woman under the guise of friendship will engage in acts of duplicity which come to light very much later. There are different species of self-justification.

Romanticism is not just a mode; it literally eats into every life. Women will never get rid of just waiting for the right man.

Like many rich men, he thought in anecdotes; like many simple women, she thought in terms of biography.

A man can go from being a lover to being a stranger in three moves flat but a woman under the guise of friendship will engage in acts of duplicity which come to light very much later. There are different species of self-justification.

The evening passes somehow; I watch television with Nancy, or I write. It is difficult, not having a family, and it is difficult to explain. I always go to bed early. And I am always ready for Monday morning, that time that other people dread.

It will be a pity if women in the more conventional mould are to be phased out, for there will never be anyone to go home to.

What is interesting about self-analysis is that it leads nowhere - it is an art form in itself.