Theodore Zeldin

Each person is an enigma. You're a puzzle not only to yourself but also to everyone else, and the great mystery of our time is how we penetrate this puzzle.

We imagine that human nature doesn't change. We like to say that but I don't think it's true because we have, in the course of the centuries, altered ourselves.

The institution of marriage, if you look at it over many centuries, has come and gone.

New York is a city where people are ambitious. They want things.

I'm interested in the psychological exploration of human nature, and it just happens to come in the form of film-making.

I'm thankful I don't have parents that I feel I need to get their attention. They've always been there for me.