“Marriage, she felt, was a fine arrangement generally, except that one never got it generally. One got it very, very specifically.”

“Through college she had been a feministbasically: she shaved her legs, but just not often enough, she liked to say.”

“The night before, a whole day could have shape and design. But when it was upon you, it could vanish tragically to air.”

“It was true. Men could be with whomever they pleased. But women had to date better, kinder, richer, and bright, bright, bright, or else people got embarrassed.”

“What makes humans human is precisely that they do not know the future. That is why they do the fateful and amusing things they do: who can say how anything will turn out? Therein lies the only hope...”

“Pulling through is what people do around here. There is a kind of bravery in their lives that isnt bravery at all. It is automatic, unflinching, a mix of man and machine, consuming and unquestionab...”

“While we are actually subjected to them, the 'moods' and 'spirits' of nature point no morals. Overwhelming gaiety, insupportable grandeur, sombre desolation are flung at you. Make what you can of t...”

“...[N]ature generally in the distribution of her capacities has adapted the means to the end... [so nature's] true destination must be to produce a will, not merely good as a means to something els...”

“Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people we personally dislike.”