I have complained a lot about men in my time. In fact, I do it more and more. But I have never been part of what used to be called the women's movement and those who have or who are, or who have never wanted to be, would probably consider me a retard of some kind. I didn't do consciousness-raising with my sisters in the late Sixties. I was married at the time and it seemed to me that if my consciousness were raised another millimetre I would go out of my mind. 1 used to think then that had I had the chance to marry Charles Darwin (or Einstein or Metternich) I might have been able to accept the arrangements that marriage entails a little more gracefully. In the Eighties, long since divorced, I decided that marriage to Nelson Mandela (or Terry Waite) would have suited me fine.

LRB 10 October 1991 | PDF Download