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About this quote

What does it mean?
A rejection of possessive love; the speaker refuses to take ownership of the other person's life.
In plain terms
You are your own person, not mine to possess.
What can you take from it?
Love should not mean controlling another's existence.

Where it applies

  • ending a relationship
  • refusing control
  • setting boundaries

Putting it to work

  • defining healthy love
  • writing dialogue
  • setting boundaries

Questions to consider

  • Can you love someone without owning them?
  • Where is the line between care and possession?

Another view

It could be interpreted as cold detachment rather than respect.

More from Fernando Pessoa

  1. I exempt you of being present in my idea of you.

    Permalink to quote #149

  2. And as well as I dream, I reason if I want, for that's just another kind of dream.

    Permalink to quote #151

  3. Only sterility is noble and dignified. Only killing what never was is elevated and perverse and absurd.

    Permalink to quote #148

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