"we can never know what to want, because, living only one life, we can neither compare it with our previous lives, nor perfect it on our lives to come."

"he was intelligent. he understood her paintings. he was handsome and good. but the more she thought about it, the more she longed to ravish his intelligence. defile his kindheartedness. and violate his powerless strength."

"i want you to be weak. as weak as i am."

"i know i am supposed to help you, but i can't. instead of being your support, i am your weight. life is very heavy to me and it is so light to you."

"there are things that can be accomplished only by violence. physical love is unthinkable without violence."

"does he love me? does he love anybody more than me? does he love me more than i love him? perhaps all the questions we ask of love, to measure, test, probe, and save it, has the additional effect of cutting it short."

"he realized he had no idea whether it was hysteria or love."