--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Unrequited love. Nowadays called…" description: "\"“Unrequited love. Nowadays called hysterical dependency.”\" — Saul Bellow" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78d/saul-bellow-558_hysterical_unrequited-love-nowadays-called-hysteric_1162658.png" --- # Unrequited love. Nowadays called hysterical dependency. ![“Unrequited love. Nowadays called hysterical dependency.” quote by Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78d/saul-bellow-558_hysterical_unrequited-love-nowadays-called-hysteric_1162658.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78d/saul-bellow-558_hysterical_unrequited-love-nowadays-called-hysteric_1162658.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78d/saul-bellow-558_hysterical_unrequited-love-nowadays-called-hysteric_1162658.png) > ““Unrequited love. Nowadays called hysterical dependency.”” [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes unrequited love as a modern form of obsessive, irrational dependence. **In simple terms:** Unrequited love is like a harmful obsession. Key Takeaway Recognize and address unhealthy attachments. Themes love obsession psychology Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - relationship counseling - self‑reflection - creative writing Key Concepts unrequited affection dependency Questions to Reflect On - Why do we cling to unattainable love? - How can we break the cycle of dependency? A Different Perspective Such dependency can be self‑destructive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Called Hysterical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-hysterical-3334969/) [Hysterical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hysterical/) [Hysterical Dependency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hysterical-dependency-3334968/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Unrequited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unrequited/) [Unrequited love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unrequited-love/) ## Related quotes > [Unrequited love is bad, but unrequitable love can really get you down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-savage/unrequited-love-is-bad-but-unrequitable-love-can-really-get-you-down/) [Sam Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-savage/) > [“I HOLD If I could have had him, I could have let him go. But without the having there was nothing— so to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-j-ginger/i-hold-if-i-could-have-had-him-i-could-have-let-him-go-but-without/) [Coco J. Ginger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-j-ginger/) > [“The only place I ever felt at home was with you. There isn’t a place for me anywhere anymore… I’ve been evicted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ranata-suzuki/the-only-place-i-ever-felt-at-home-was-with-you-there-isn-t-a-place/) [Ranata Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ranata-suzuki/) > [Although love unreturned can drive you to despair, trust that somewhere out there, someone is waiting just for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ramirez/although-love-unreturned-can-drive-you-to-despair-trust-that/) [Laura Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ramirez/) > [Because what’s worse than knowing you want something, besides knowing you can never have it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/because-what-s-worse-than-knowing-you-want-something-besides-knowing/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [“I miss that feeling of connection. Knowing he was out there somewhere thinking about me at the same time I was thinking about him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ranata-suzuki/i-miss-that-feeling-of-connection-knowing-he-was-out-there-somewhere/) [Ranata Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ranata-suzuki/) > [“Though it’s reasons to burn may vary... you are always the fuel of my fire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ranata-suzuki/though-it-s-reasons-to-burn-may-vary-you-are-always-the-fuel-of-my/) [Ranata Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ranata-suzuki/) > [To burn with desire and keep quiet about it is the greatest punishment we can bring on ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/to-burn-with-desire-and-keep-quiet-about-it-is-the-greatest/) [Federico Garcia Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) > [This unrequited love, to me it's nothing but a one-man cult/And cyanide in my styrofoam cup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-ocean/this-unrequited-love-to-me-it-s-nothing-but-a-one-man-cult-and/) [Frank Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-ocean/) > [Powerful women always interpret hostility as unrequited love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-brown/powerful-women-always-interpret-hostility-as-unrequited-love/) [Tina Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-brown/) > [“Unrequited love is the only emotion that allows sane people to taste the “life sentence” of someone with bipolar disorder. The longer they hang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/unrequited-love-is-the-only-emotion-that-allows-sane-people-to-taste/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [How timid and frail is unrequited love? A place you entered of your own accord, but youre trapped inside, unable to find an exit.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/korean-drama/how-timid-and-frail-is-unrequited-love-a-place-you-entered-of-your/) [Korean Drama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/korean-drama/) > [“Next worst thing to unrequited Love, isn't it? Insufficient hate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/next-worst-thing-to-unrequited-love-isn-t-it-insufficient-hate/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [Only three things are infinite. The sky in its stars, the sea in its drops of water, and the heart in its tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/only-three-things-are-infinite-the-sky-in-its-stars-the-sea-in-its/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“Unrequited love is the sharpest, most bitter love of all. But it is still love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-mcfadden/unrequited-love-is-the-sharpest-most-bitter-love-of-all-but-it-is/) [Tony McFadden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-mcfadden/) ## More by Saul Bellow > [... a fellow can't predict what he will pick up in the form of influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-fellow-can-t-predict-what-he-will-pick-up-in-the-form-of-influence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [If I'm out of my mind, it's all right with me, thought Moses Herzog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/if-i-m-out-of-my-mind-it-s-all-right-with-me-thought-moses-herzog/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [I have begun in old age to understand just how oddly we are all put together. We are so proud of our autonomy that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-have-begun-in-old-age-to-understand-just-how-oddly-we-are-all-put/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“On Broadway it was still bright afternoon and the gassy air was almost motionless under the leaden spokes of sunlight, and sawdust footprints lay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/on-broadway-it-was-still-bright-afternoon-and-the-gassy-air-was/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There are evils that have the ability to survive identification and go on for ever... money, for instance, or war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-evils-that-have-the-ability-to-survive-identification-and/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Myself is thus and so, and will continue thus and so. And why fight it? My balance comes from instability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/myself-is-thus-and-so-and-will-continue-thus-and-so-and-why-fight-it/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“A strange heart. I myself can't account for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-strange-heart-i-myself-can-t-account-for-it/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [The late philosopher Morris R. Cohen of CCNY was asked by a student in the metaphysics course, Professor Cohen, how do I know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/the-late-philosopher-morris-r-cohen-of-ccny-was-asked-by-a-student-in/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“Therefore we didn't talk of genuine things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/therefore-we-didn-t-talk-of-genuine-things/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Is our species crazy? Plenty of evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/is-our-species-crazy-plenty-of-evidence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“But now the emphasis has shifted to making it. People have surrendered their personal moral objectives to government or schools or psychologists. It’s a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/but-now-the-emphasis-has-shifted-to-making-it-people-have-surrendered/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There's a kind of emptiness at the center of life ... nothing to form your life on, or by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-s-a-kind-of-emptiness-at-the-center-of-life-nothing-to-form/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“I don't know how it all at once came to me to talk a lot, tell jokes, kick up, and suddenly have views. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-don-t-know-how-it-all-at-once-came-to-me-to-talk-a-lot-tell-jokes/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There are times when the most practical thing is to lie down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-times-when-the-most-practical-thing-is-to-lie-down/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“For knowledge of death makes us wish to extend our lives at the expense of others. And this is the root of the struggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/for-knowledge-of-death-makes-us-wish-to-extend-our-lives-at-the/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) [Explore all 464 Saul Bellow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) ## More Hysterical quotes > [“Which one hadn't he walked down? Was it Barkovitch? Collie Parker? Percy What'shisname? Who was it? 'GARRATY!' the crowd screamed deliriously. 'GARRATY, GARRATY, GARRATY!'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king-as-richard-bachman/which-one-hadn-t-he-walked-down-was-it-barkovitch-collie-parker-percy/) [Stephen King as Richard Bachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king-as-richard-bachman/) > [“Blaming therapy, social work and other caring professions for the confabulation of testimony of 'satanic ritual abuse' legitimated a programme of political and social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-salter/blaming-therapy-social-work-and-other-caring-professions-for-the/) [Michael Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-salter/) > [Saiman picked up a coffee mug, stared at it, and hurled it against the wall. It shattered into a dozen pieces. We looked at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/saiman-picked-up-a-coffee-mug-stared-at-it-and-hurled-it-against-the/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [I think that 'Family Guy' is hysterical. It's edgy and hip - and they can do whatever they want to do because it's animated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-levi/i-think-that-family-guy-is-hysterical-it-s-edgy-and-hip-and-they-can/) [Zachary Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-levi/) > [The hysterical find too much significance in things. The depressed find too little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-hysterical-find-too-much-significance-in-things-the-depressed/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Anyways, trying to express yourself to the press is often like arguing with a hysterical person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-koenig/anyways-trying-to-express-yourself-to-the-press-is-often-like-arguing/) [Ezra Koenig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-koenig/) > [I have no faith in our hypocritical, false, hysterical, uneducated and lazy intelligentsia when they suffer and complain: their oppression comes from within. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/i-have-no-faith-in-our-hypocritical-false-hysterical-uneducated-and/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [What I had mastered was fly-fishing Rule # 1: Remove all hooks from soft tissue under water, where near-freezing temperatures anesthetize exposed nerve endings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-maxwell/what-i-had-mastered-was-fly-fishing-rule-1-remove-all-hooks-from-soft/) [Jessica Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-maxwell/) > [I became hysterical and frightened and begged for sedation. And that was just the first prenatal visit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/i-became-hysterical-and-frightened-and-begged-for-sedation-and-that/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [Everyone in a position of authority is hysterical, and everyone else is pretending to be asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/everyone-in-a-position-of-authority-is-hysterical-and-everyone-else/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [I watched 'The Neighbors' when it first came on, and I thought it was hysterical. And every time I think something just tickles my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhea-perlman/i-watched-the-neighbors-when-it-first-came-on-and-i-thought-it-was/) [Rhea Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhea-perlman/) > [You want the vote so badly that you think it worth while to become hysterical over it.' 'There is not much hysteria in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-benson/you-want-the-vote-so-badly-that-you-think-it-worth-while-to-become/) [Stella Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-benson/) > [Idealistic reformers are dangerous because their idealism has no roots in love, but is simply a hysterical and unbalanced rage for order amidst their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/idealistic-reformers-are-dangerous-because-their-idealism-has-no/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [In the sequence where I am burned at the stake, everything was so casual and hazardous that the bottom of my dress caught fire,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-steele/in-the-sequence-where-i-am-burned-at-the-stake-everything-was-so/) [Barbara Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-steele/) > [ \[Concerning monotheistic religions\] The only thing these hysterical cults have in common is the belief that this world will be consumed, and deservedly so,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/concerning-monotheistic-religions-the-only-thing-these-hysterical/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) [Browse all 241 Hysterical quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hysterical/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Unrequited love. 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