Quotes from Jane Bowles

Sometimes when a man gets older he has a revelation and wants awfully bad to get back to the place where he left his life, but he can't get to that place- not often.

The farther a man follows the rainbow, the harder it is for him to get back to the life which he left starving like an old dog.

I am so wily and feminine that I could live by your side for a lifetime and deceive you afresh each day.

True enough," said Mrs. Copperfield, bringing her fist down on the table and looking very mean. "I have gone to pieces, which is a thing I've wanted to do for years. I know I am as guilty as I can be, but I have my happiness, which I guard like a wolf, and I have authority now and a certain amount of daring, which, if you remember correctly, I never had before.

it is against my entire code, but then, I have never even begun to use my code, although I judge everything by it.

What makes me happy I seem to catch out of the sky with both hands; I only hold whatever it is that I love because that is all I can really see.

Even then she wore the look of certain fanatics who think of themselves as leaders without once having gained the respect of a single human being.

Houses! I hate houses. I like public places. Houses break your heart.

I am less morose. I am just showing the results of the terrific fight that I have waged inside of myself, and you know that the face of victory often resembles the face of defeat.

I wanted to be a religious leader when I was young and now I just reside in my house and try not to be too unhappy. I have a friend living with me, which makes it easier.

I don't judge people by their bodies. Even when I was a young girl I liked men for their minds. Now that I'm middle-aged I see how right I was.

The world and all the people in it had suddenly slipped beyond her comprehension and she felt in great danger of losing the whole world once and for all--a feeling that is difficult to explain.

One must allow that a certain amount of carelessness in one's nature often accomplishes what the will is incapable of doing

But do you know," said Andy, "how beautiful and delicate a man's heart is when he is happy for the first time? It is like the thin ice that has imprisoned those beautiful young plants that are released when the ice thaws.

You see, in the morning I always practice imagination for an hour or two. It does me lots of good.

Well," said Miss Goering, "perhaps my maneuvers do seem a little strange, but I have thought for a long time now that often, so very often, heroes who believe themselves to be monsters because they are so far removed from other men turn around much later and see really monstrous acts being committed in the name of something mediocre.

I always thought I should meet you. My cousin used to tell me how queer you were. I think, though, that you can make friends more quickly with queer people. Or else you don't make friends with them at all—one way or the other.

I believe sincerely that only those men who reach the stage where it is possible for them to combat a second tragedy within themselves, and not the first over again, are worthy of being called mature.

You were mean and worried then and you're mean and worried now. The expression on your face hasn't changed one bit. It's a dangerous man who reacts more or less in the same way to good news or bad news.

Los lugares que no te funcionan son mucho más difíciles de abandonar".

The farther a man follows the rainbow, the harder it is for him to get back to the life which he left starving like an old dog.

Sisterly love is one of the few boons in this life.

I fear nomads. I am afraid of them and afraid for them too.