“Nell was not one for friends and had never hidden her distaste for most other humans, their neurotic compulsion for the acquisition of allies.”

“What becomes of a man who acquires a beautiful woman, with her "beauty" his sole target? He sabotages himself. He has gained no friend, no ally, no mutual trust: She knows quite well why she has been chosen. He has succeeded in buying something: the esteem of other men who find such an acquisition impressive.”

“Of all the means to insure happiness throughout the whole life, by far the most important is the acquisition of friends.”

“You can take the girl out of the library, but you can't take the neurotic, compulsively curious librarian out of the girl.”

“Anna Arkadyevna read and understood, but it was distasteful to her to read, that it, to follow the reflection of other people's lives. She had too great a desire to live herself.”

“... and of all the words I have hidden and saved and treasured, these are the ones I will never forget, the most important ones of all.”