All I am is literature, and I am not able or willing to be anything else.

You, who can't do anything, think you can bring off something like that? How can you even dare to think about it? If you were capable of it, you certainly wouldn't be in need of it.

It is strange how little sharpsightedness women possess; they only notice whether they please, then whether they arouse pity, and finally, whether you look for compassion from them. That is all; come to think of it, it may even be enough, generally speaking.

Writing [is] a form of prayer.

Don't despair, not even over the fact that you don't despair.

Love has as few problems as a motor car. The only problems are the driver, the passengers, and the road.

Two tasks at the beginning of your life: to narrow your orbit more and more, and ever and again to check whether you are not in hiding somewhere outside your orbit.