But I want first of all- in fact, as an end to these other desires- to be at peace with myself.

Frenchwomen just never look ungroomed, do they?

For sleep, one needs endless depths of blackness to sink into; daylight is too shallow, it will not cover one.

Woman can best refind herself by losing herself in some kind of creative activity of her own.

People talk about love as though it were something you could give, like an armful of flowers. And a lot of people give love like that -- just dump it down on top of you, a useless strong-scented burden.

I want a singleness of eye, a purity of intention, a central core to my life that will enable me to carry out these obligations and activities as well as I can.

Woman must come of age by herself. This is the essence of 'coming of age'-to learn how to stand alone. She must learn not to depend on another, nor to feel she must prove her strength by competing with another. In the past, she has swung between these two opposite poles of dependence and competition, of Victorianism and Feminism. Both extremes throw her off balance; neither is the center, the true center of being a whole woman. She must find her true center alone. She must become whole.