"Women and men are different, after all. Being a mother isn't the same as being a father. Motherhood means that a woman gives her body over to her child, her children; they're on her as they might be on a hill, in a garden; they devour her, hit her, sleep on her; and she lets herself be devoured. Nothing like that happens with fathers. You might ask me, What if a man tries to be part of the home—will the woman let him? I answer yes. Because then he becomes one of the children. Men's needs have to be met just the same as children's. And women take the same pleasure in meeting them. Men think they're heroes—again, just like children. Men love war, hunting, fishing, motorbikes, cars, just like children. When they're sleepy, you can see it. And women like men to be like that. We mustn't fool ourselves. We like men to be cruel and innocent; we like hunters and warriors; we like children. "

Marguerite Duras (b. 1914), French author, filmmaker.