Part of the reason images of women in positions of authority are marked by their gender is that the very notion of authority is associated with maleness.

But if you parry individuals points - a negative and defensive enterprise - you never step back and actively imagine a world in which a different system of ideas could be true - a positive act.

any criticism heard secondhand sounds worse than it would face to face. Words spoken out of our presence strike us as more powerful, just as people we know only by reputation seem larger than life.

Part of the reason images of women in positions of authority are marked by their gender is that the very notion of authority is associated with maleness.

Relationships are made of talk - and talk is for girls and women.

Life is a matter of dealing with other people, in little matters and cataclysmic ones, and that means a series of conversations.

The allure of love is to have someone who knows you so well that you don't have to explain yourself. It is the promise of someone who cares enough about you to protect you against the world of strangers who do not wish you well.