People
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!”
— Albert Camus
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial 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