On the evenings when my parents held parties, the drawing-room mirrors multiplied to infinity the scintillations of a crystal chandelier. Mama would take her seat at the grand piano to accompany a lady dressed in a cloud of tulle who played the violin and a cousin who performed on a cello. I would crack between my teeth the candied shell of an artificial fruit, and a burst of light would illuminate my palate with a taste of blackcurrant or pineapple: all the colours, all the lights were mine, the gauzy scarves, the diamonds, the laces; I held the whole party in my mouth.

All the opportunities you let slip by! The idea, the inspiration just doesn´t come fast enough. Instead of being open, you´re closed up tight. That´s the worst sin of all - the sin of omission.

Self-knowledge is no guarantee of happiness, but it is on the side of happiness and can supply the courage to fight for it.

To give space when what one most yearns for is closeness, that is both the great test and great tragedy of love.

Old age is better for women than for men. First of all, they have less far to fall, since their lives are more mediocre than those of most men.

In every society the artist or writer remains an outsider.

The whole world was nothing but an exile with no hope of a return.