She wasn't in love but she would love him, if that would save her.

Language is the instrument in all cases and can language be trusted?If it were not for language, could we lie?

I always tell my students the same thing. And that's to live life, and to read very voraciously without any definite program. To travel, to meet people, to talk to people, to listen very carefully, and not interrupt, but listen to their own grandparents speak of their families.

And so you must grant to God what is God and not try to think of what you have lost, for that way is madness.

The appeal of writing is primarily the investigation of mystery.

I don't know what marriages are like in general, but there are many things which I don't talk about with my husband. We discuss practical problems, but I wouldn't sit down with him and talk about the distant past. It's somewhat in contrast to other Americans, who feel that they have to confess things, but I'm really not like that.

You are writing for your contemporaries - not for Posterity. If you are lucky, your contemporaries will become Posterity.