“There’s still a part of her that’s waiting for the twist, the moment when all of this pleasure will jackknife into pain.”

“I only want to express the black part of me, the part of me that’s twisted. When something is fun, it’s fun for only that moment, right. But the bad stuff, the pain, we bring it with us for days. And depending on how deep the wound, we might not be able to forget for a year or two. First off, It’s impossible for anyone to sustain fun for 2 years. In short, I have no interest in expressing the ethereal.”

“That’s how stories happen — with a turning point, an unexpected twist. There’s only one kind of happiness, but misfortune comes in all shapes and sizes. It’s like Tolstoy said. Happiness is an allegory, unhappiness a story.”

“Strange, the desire for certain pleasures is a part of my pain.”

“And I loved this moment for all it's pain...We seemed for a moment like two parts of the same thing.”

“All the overpowering blinding, bewildering, first effects of strong surprise were over with her. Still, however, she had enough to feel! It was agitation, pain, pleasure, a something between delight and misery.”