“I also wish I'd been born with a clearly defined talent for something, or else stupid.”

“I wish I had never been born--there or anywhere else. ”

“sometimes i wish i'd been an englishman; american life is so damned dumb and stupid and healthy”

“I wish I hadn't. I wish I'd fought for you. I was weak and stupid.”

“More than anything in this world, I wish I had been born rich. It would have made up for everything. I'd still be ugly, sure, but I'd be rich and ugly. I'd still be weak and dim and tongue-tied with women, but I'd be rich enough for them not to care. I'd no longer be a social misfit, I'd be eccentric. And most of all, I'd no longer be what I was, I'd be something different.”

“There is also the basic inequality of being born either with a natural talent or without one. Clever or stupid. No matter how much you try to argue against it, Dora, we are not born equal. All we can ever strive for is the equality of opportunity for those who have the ability to make the most of it.”