I always felt that Madame T was self-censoring. She had very, very few unguarded moments and rarely spoke from the heart. The only time I felt I could trust her to speak freely was when she was angry, and this is perhaps the main reason I kept goading her.

(These remarks apply equally well to my mother, of course.)

I'm sure she had a good sound therapeutic excuse, eg "It's not about me, it's about you".

But in the end, the emotional connection was just too narrow.