--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In me all affections take place on the…" description: "\"“In me all affections take place on the surface, but sincerely. I've always been an actor, and in earnest. Whenever I've loved, I've pretended to love,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/899/fernando-pessoa-177_acting_in-me-all-affections-take-place-on-the-s_2498697.jpg" --- # In me all affections take place on the surface, but… ![“In me all affections take place on the surface, but sincerely. I've always been an actor, and in earnest. Whenever I've loved, I've pretended to love, pretending it even to myself.” quote by Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/899/fernando-pessoa-177_acting_in-me-all-affections-take-place-on-the-s_2498697.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/899/fernando-pessoa-177_acting_in-me-all-affections-take-place-on-the-s_2498697.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/899/fernando-pessoa-177_acting_in-me-all-affections-take-place-on-the-s_2498697.jpg) > ““In me all affections take place on the surface, but sincerely. I've always been an actor, and in earnest. Whenever I've loved, I've pretended to love, pretending it even to myself.”” [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Affection is superficial yet sincere; the speaker pretends love, even to himself, revealing inner conflict. **In simple terms:** Love feels shallow but real, yet pretended. Key Takeaway Recognize authentic feelings. Themes self‑deception authenticity love Mood reflective confessional Type literary psychological When to use this quote - romantic relationships - self‑reflection - artistic performance - friendships Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - When do we fake love? - How does self‑deception affect relationships? A Different Perspective Pretending may mask true emotions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acting/) [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Affections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affections/) [Affections Place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affections-place-1039701/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Pretending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-pretending-283652/) [Pretended Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretended-love-1039700/) [Pretending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretending/) ## Related quotes > [I don't care if they hate me cause I love being myself rather than pretending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine/i-don-t-care-if-they-hate-me-cause-i-love-being-myself-rather-than/) [Christine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine/) > [I love pretending to be other people. The more unlike me they are the better - I find other people endlessly fascinating and myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacki-weaver/i-love-pretending-to-be-other-people-the-more-unlike-me-they-are-the/) [Jacki Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacki-weaver/) > [“I don't care. I love you and I will always love you, and pretending it could be any other way is just a waste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-don-t-care-i-love-you-and-i-will-always-love-you-and-pretending-it/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [It is hard to be love by someone than pretending to be that someone to be love..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsu/it-is-hard-to-be-love-by-someone-than-pretending-to-be-that-someone/) [Natsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsu/) > [Call me the girl that YOU PRETENDED to love. Call me the girl you NEVER loved. Call me the girl you all ways HATED.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ceejean-loot/call-me-the-girl-that-you-pretended-to-love-call-me-the-girl-you/) [Ceejean Loot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ceejean-loot/) > [“I had got away from what I hated, but I hadn’t found where I loved, and so I pretended that there was nowhere to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/i-had-got-away-from-what-i-hated-but-i-hadn-t-found-where-i-loved-and/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [I thought I had her bt I was wrong :( She pretended to love me and I fall for it :( I fucked around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddy-jay/i-thought-i-had-her-bt-i-was-wrong-she-pretended-to-love-me-and-i/) [Eddy Jay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddy-jay/) > [“There is no pretending,” Jace said with absolute clarity. “I love you, and I will love you until I die and if there’s a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/there-is-no-pretending-jace-said-with-absolute-clarity-i-love-you-and/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I love pretending I have the courage to quit my job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-love-pretending-i-have-the-courage-to-quit-my-job/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Damn I love u bt knwing u love her and pretending that I don't care is d tuffest thing I ever did in mah…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muskan/damn-i-love-u-bt-knwing-u-love-her-and-pretending-that-i-don-t-care/) [Muskan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muskan/) > [And I would do it again. I love you, Jace Wayland-Herondale-Lightwood-whatever you want to call yourself. I don't care. I love you and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/and-i-would-do-it-again-i-love-you-jace-wayland-herondale-lightwood/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“But that's very mean', he managed to say lightly, ' just when I was getting interested.' 'I've loved you so - 'As if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-3/but-that-s-very-mean-he-managed-to-say-lightly-just-when-i-was/) [F.Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-3/) > [I wasn't in love with you I was in love with who you were pretending to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/i-wasn-t-in-love-with-you-i-was-in-love-with-who-you-were-pretending/) [SONYA PARKER](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [I love anything that kind of removes me from myself and employs something else. So, I love accents and I love pretending.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-bell/i-love-anything-that-kind-of-removes-me-from-myself-and-employs/) [Jamie Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-bell/) > [That’s what real love amounts to - letting a person be what he really is…Most people love you for who you pretend to be…To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/that-s-what-real-love-amounts-to-letting-a-person-be-what-he-really/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) ## More by Fernando Pessoa > [Everything interests me, but nothing holds me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-interests-me-but-nothing-holds-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“If only, I feel now, if only I could be someone able to see all this as if he had no other relation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/if-only-i-feel-now-if-only-i-could-be-someone-able-to-see-all-this-as/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [What's given, in fact, always depends on the person or thing it's given to. A minor incident in the street brings the cook to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/what-s-given-in-fact-always-depends-on-the-person-or-thing-it-s-given/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Smell is a strange sight. It evokes sentimental landscapes through a sudden sketching of the subconscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/smell-is-a-strange-sight-it-evokes-sentimental-landscapes-through-a/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Tudo vale a pena quando a alma não é pequena”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/tudo-vale-a-pena-quando-a-alma-n-o-pequena/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“no nostalgia hurts as much as nostalgia for things that never existed!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-nostalgia-hurts-as-much-as-nostalgia-for-things-that-never-existed/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [pg.9 "In my heart there's a peaceful anguish, and my calm is made of resignation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/pg-9-in-my-heart-there-s-a-peaceful-anguish-and-my-calm-is-made-of/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“The feelings that hurt most, the motions that sting most, are those that are absurd; the longing for impossible things, precisely because they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-feelings-that-hurt-most-the-motions-that-sting-most-are-those/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“I try to say what I feel Without thinking about what I feel. I try to place words right next to my idea So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-try-to-say-what-i-feel-without-thinking-about-what-i-feel-i-try-to/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Have you ever considered, beloved other, how invisible we are to each other? We look at each other without seeing. We listen to each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/have-you-ever-considered-beloved-other-how-invisible-we-are-to-each/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“To associate is to die. Only my consciousness of myself is real for me; other people are hazy phenomena in this consciousness, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/to-associate-is-to-die-only-my-consciousness-of-myself-is-real-for-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“When it comes to dreams, I’m no different from the errand boy and the seamstress. The only thing that distinguishes me from them is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/when-it-comes-to-dreams-i-m-no-different-from-the-errand-boy-and-the/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“No intelligent idea can gain general acceptance unless some stupidity is mixed in with it. Collective thought is stupid because it’s collective. Nothing passes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-intelligent-idea-can-gain-general-acceptance-unless-some-stupidity/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [God gave the sea the danger and the abyss, but it was in it that He mirrored the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/god-gave-the-sea-the-danger-and-the-abyss-but-it-was-in-it-that-he/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Everything that surrounds us becomes part of us, it seeps into us with every experience of the flesh and of life and, like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-that-surrounds-us-becomes-part-of-us-it-seeps-into-us-with/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) [Explore all 781 Fernando Pessoa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## More Acting quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Many Republicans have always reminded me of professional WWF wrestlers. They come into the ring all pumped up and acting like they're invincible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/many-republicans-have-always-reminded-me-of-professional-wwf/) [Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/) > [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/) [Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/) > [Acting is a grind, just like music is a grind. Sometimes it takes longer than what you can give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/acting-is-a-grind-just-like-music-is-a-grind-sometimes-it-takes/) [Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/) > [It was only when I started making short films in college and I was looking for girls to play the me-ish parts that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/it-was-only-when-i-started-making-short-films-in-college-and-i-was/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [Writing is something I took up rather than anything I had an inclination toward. I like acting -delivering someone else's message - but writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/writing-is-something-i-took-up-rather-than-anything-i-had-an/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [Actors don't hate acting. Most people don't hate acting! Whether you're a child mucking around with your friends or a grown up being paid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-hewson/actors-don-t-hate-acting-most-people-don-t-hate-acting-whether-you-re/) [Liv Hewson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-hewson/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [Once I committed to acting, this has been it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-hudson/once-i-committed-to-acting-this-has-been-it/) [Ernie Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-hudson/) > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) [Ryan Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-newman/) > [The show was number one in the ratings, Gordon Russell was our head writer, the story lines were magnificent and the acting most exciting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-storm/the-show-was-number-one-in-the-ratings-gordon-russell-was-our-head/) [Michael Storm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-storm/) > [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [I do not believe in public shaming. 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