A blue metal padlock with red string tied around its shackle and a key lying beside it against a deep blue background.

Original artwork, not a still

Albert Camus

Some cry: “Love me!” Others: “Don’t love me!” But a certain genus, the worst and most unhappy, cries: “Don’t love me and be faithful to me!”

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The passage distinguishes wanting love from rejecting it, then singles out a demand for fidelity without love. The speaker judges that combination especially unhappy. Its contradiction lies in asking another person to remain devoted while also asking not to be loved.

Context reviewed

Share this quote