“Every author in some way portrays himself in his works, even if it be against his will.”

“A man should live his life a certain way not because of some divine authority, but because of a personal moral obligation to himself and others.”

“In every author, let us distinguish the man from his work.”

“The fact is that every author creates his own precursors. His work modifies our conception of the past, as it will modify the future.”

“In all great works of fiction, regardless of the grim reality they present, there is an affirmation of life against the transience of that life, an essential defiance. This affirmation lies in the way the author takes control of reality by retelling it in his own way, thus creating a new world. Every great work of art, I would declare pompously, is a celebration, an act of insubordination against the betrayals, horrors and infidelities of life. The perfection and beauty of form rebels against the ugliness and shabbiness of the subject matter.”

“Every reader, if he has a strong mind, reads himself into the book, and amalgamates his thoughts with those of the author.”