I don't think there's any intrinsic difference between a lover and a husband. ... If I were cynical, I would say that a woman should have both a good husband and a lover. But I'm not cynical so I'll just say that a woman should have a lover who's a good husband and a husband who's a good lover, perhaps both.

It seems to me that there are two kinds of trickery: the "fronts" people assume before one another's eyes, and the "front" a writer puts on the face of reality.

I feel sorry for men. They have more problems than women, because they now have to compete with women.

Art must take reality by surprise.

I've read Proust and Stendhal. That keeps you in your place.

Looking for pleasure is the best way to ensure you won't find it.

Illness is the opposite of freedom. It makes everything impossible.