When I wrote my book I wanted to love someone. I wanted to be in love. Now I know that I shall never be in love - and I no longer wish to be.

I began to be a woman at twelve, or more properly, a genius.

I have never read a line of Walt Whitman.

One's thoughts are one's most crucial adventures. Seriously and strongly and intently to contemplate doing murder is everyway more exciting, more romantic, more profoundly tragic than the murder done.

May I never, I say, become that abnormal, merciless animal, that deformed monstrosity - a virtuous woman.

Some people say that beauty is a curse. It may be true, but I'm sure I should not have at all minded being cursed a little.

I read of the Kalamazoo girl who killed herself after reading the book. I am not at all surprised. She lived in Kalamazoo, for one thing, and then she read the book.