'All action leads to suffering, someone else's, or one's own.' — Malcolm Bradbury

'It must be nice to think there is a true reality,' says Miss Callendar. 'I've always found reality a matter of great debate.'

'The trouble is, it's hard to know you're little,' says Felicity. 'People like to make themselves matter.'

'Oh, everybody exploits somebody,' says Howard, 'in this social order it's part of the human lot.'