You know the pain is part of the whole thing. And it isnโt that you can say afterwards the pleasure was greater than the pain and thatโs why you would do it again. That has nothing to do with it. You canโt measure it, because the pain comes after and it lasts longer. So the question really is, Why doesnโt that pain make you say, I wonโt do it again? When the pain is so bad that you have to say that, but you donโt.
Lydia DavisI don't feel I have to struggle against allegory. I let the readers do the interpreting.
Lydia DavisI donโt like to hurt peopleโs feelings, and I donโt like to knock other writers as a matter of principle.
Lydia Davis