"A freedom which is interested only in denying freedom must be denied. And it is not true that the recognition of the freedom of others limits my own freedom: to be free is not to have the power to do anything you like; it is to be able to surpass the given toward an open future; the existence of others as a freedom defines my situation and is even the condition of my own freedom. I am oppressed if I am thrown into prison, but not if I am kept from throwing my neighbor into prison."

"If you haven't been happy very young you can still be happy later on but it's much harder. You need more luck."

"Trudging alone along that black road, sometimes in the teeth of wind and rain, and watching the white distant gleam of convolvulus through the park railings, gave me an exhilarating sensation of adventure."

"But I was brought up on convent morals and paternal nationalism, I was getting bogged down in contradictions."

"Buying is a profound pleasure."

"The relation of woman to husband, of daughter to father, of sister to brother, is a relation of vassalage."

"My contemplation is an excruciation only because it is also a joy."

"In a way, literature is true than life,' he said to himself. 'On paper, you say exactly and completely what you feel. How easy it is to break things off on paper! You hate, you shout, you kill, you commit suicide; you carry things to the very end. And that's why it's false. But it's damned satisfying. In life, you're constantly denying yourself, and others are always contradicting you. On paper, I make time stand still and I impose my convictions on the whole world; they become the only reality."

"To catch a husband is an art; to hold him is a job."

"Capabilities are clearly manifested only when they have been realized."