There is, on the whole, nothing on earth intended for innocent people so horrible as a school. To begin with, it is a prison. But in some respects more cruel than a prison. In a prison, for instance, you are not forced to read books written by the warders and the governor. . . .In the prison you are not forced to sit listening to turnkeys discoursing without charm or interest on subjects that they don't understand and don't care about, and therefore incapable of making you understand or care about. In a prison they may torture your body; but they do not torture your brains.

Our lives are shaped not as much by our experiences as by our expectations.

Nothing is ever accomplished by a reasonable man.

Poverty doesn't bring unhappiness; it brings degradation.

A drama critic is a man who leaves no turn unstoned.

If we women were particular about men's characters, we should never get married at all.

Reviewing has one advantage over suicide: in suicide you take it out on yourself; in reviewing you take it out on other people.