“If I blow my nose, it gets written all over the world.”

“If my world were to cave in tomorrow, I would look back on all the pleasures, excitements and worthwhilenesses I have been lucky enough to have had. Not the sadness, not my miscarriages or my father leaving home, but the joy of everything else. It will have been enough.”

“If you lead a simple life, and that story is written, then that story will not satisfy. It needs an angle. Suppose there is no angle?”

“Each, in its own way, was unforgettable. It would be difficult to — Rome! By all means, Rome. I will cherish my visit here in memory as long as I live.”

“If I get married, I want to be very married.”

“I have learnt how to live…how to be in the world and of the world, and not just to stand aside and watch.”

“You can even say that I hated myself at certain periods. I was too fat, or maybe too tall, or maybe just plain too ugly ... you can say my definiteness stems from underlying feelings of insecurity and inferiority. I couldn't conquer these feelings by acting indecisive. I found the only way to get the better of them was by adopting a forceful, concentrated drive.”