The sexes deceive themselves over one another: this happens because fundamentally they honour and love only themselves... Hence man wants woman to be peaceful-but woman, like a cat, is essentially not peaceful, however much she may have practised an appearance of peacefulness.

Women are constituted in such a way that all truth (regarding men, love, children, society, the purpose of life) disgusts them, and in such a way that they try to revenge themselves on anyone who opens their eyes.

The happiness of man is: I will. The happiness of woman is: he wills.

Stupid as a man, say the women: cowardly as a woman, say the men. Stupidity in a woman is unwomanly.

The true man wants two things: danger and play. For that reason he wants woman, as the most dangerous plaything.

The perfect woman perpetrates literature as she perpetrates a small sin: as an experiment, in passing, glancing around to see whether anybody notices - and to make sure that somebody notices.