I combine concrete cynicism with a sort of vague optimism. - Mary McCarthy

You can date the evolving life of a mind, like the age of a tree, by the rings of friendship formed by the expanding central trunk. In the course of my history, not love or marriage so much as friendship has promoted growth.

[A]ll moral values, to the analyst, were just rationalizations: ego massage.

They would not be happy unless she conformed to their definition of enjoyment, which meant that she would have to be miserable to satisfy them.