--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I want so obviously, so desperately to be…" description: "\"I want so obviously, so desperately to be loved, and to be capable of love.\" — Sylvia Plath" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/sylvia-plath-149_capable_i-want-so-obviously-so-desperately-to-be_1536137.jpg" --- # I want so obviously, so desperately to be loved, and to be… ![“I want so obviously, so desperately to be loved, and to be capable of love.” quote by Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/sylvia-plath-149_capable_i-want-so-obviously-so-desperately-to-be_1536137.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/sylvia-plath-149_capable_i-want-so-obviously-so-desperately-to-be_1536137.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/sylvia-plath-149_capable_i-want-so-obviously-so-desperately-to-be_1536137.jpg) > “I want so obviously, so desperately to be loved, and to be capable of love.” [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A deep longing for love and the ability to love reflects vulnerability and desire for connection. **In simple terms:** Desperate need for love and ability to love. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑love to enable healthy relationships. Themes love vulnerability identity desire Mood introspective hopeful Type emotional psychological When to use this quote - therapy - personal relationships - artistic expression Key Concepts self‑esteem emotional intelligence attachment theory Questions to Reflect On - What does loving yourself look like? - How can you express love without losing self? A Different Perspective Self‑love can be hard to achieve alone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Capable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capable/) [Capable Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capable-love/) [Desperately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desperately/) [Desperately Loved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desperately-loved-2519623/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Obviously Desperately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obviously-desperately-5710653/) [Relationship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationship/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Obviously](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-obviously-1994606/) ## Related quotes > [“I couldn’t tell you what I had just figured out. That I desperately loved you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-c-stephens/i-couldn-t-tell-you-what-i-had-just-figured-out-that-i-desperately/) [S.C. Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-c-stephens/) > [You know, you want everything you do, obviously, to be a success critically and commercially. But what you find out as you go along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ann-womack/you-know-you-want-everything-you-do-obviously-to-be-a-success/) [Lee Ann Womack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ann-womack/) > [He was the sort of guy who took a lot without giving her anything back The more he hurt her the more desperately she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-musso/he-was-the-sort-of-guy-who-took-a-lot-without-giving-her-anything/) [Guillaume Musso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-musso/) > [I desperately loved my husband and I wanted to share everything together, and I thought that we were a very good team.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-diana/i-desperately-loved-my-husband-and-i-wanted-to-share-everything/) [Princess Diana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-diana/) > [There's a lot of pressure we put on ourselves because we want to do well for ourselves and obviously do well for your country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-chilwell/there-s-a-lot-of-pressure-we-put-on-ourselves-because-we-want-to-do/) [Ben Chilwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-chilwell/) > [You do what you want because obviously, I'm not what you wanted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryaj-ablando-catayas/you-do-what-you-want-because-obviously-i-m-not-what-you-wanted/) [Ryaj Ablando Catayas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryaj-ablando-catayas/) > [I did not believe him capable of love. That is an emotion in which tenderness is an essential part, but Strickland had no tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-did-not-believe-him-capable-of-love-that-is-an-emotion-in-which/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [A body is a body, but only voices are capable of love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricardo-piglia/a-body-is-a-body-but-only-voices-are-capable-of-love/) [Ricardo Piglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricardo-piglia/) > [She must love me, to worry about me. 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It is perhaps the only glimpse we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hayes/the-story-of-a-love-is-not-important-what-is-important-is-that-one-is/) [Helen Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hayes/) > [Relationships are not about how two people can survive each other but about how the whole world becomes more capable of love, with all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-richo/relationships-are-not-about-how-two-people-can-survive-each-other-but/) [David Richo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-richo/) > [“If only I was capable of love, how I would have loved Harry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/if-only-i-was-capable-of-love-how-i-would-have-loved-harry/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) > [That is why young people, who are beginners in everything, are not yet capable of love: it is something they must learn. With their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/that-is-why-young-people-who-are-beginners-in-everything-are-not-yet/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) ## More by Sylvia Plath > [“It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-was-a-queer-sultry-summer-the-summer-they-electrocuted-the/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I love life. But it is hard and I have so much, so very much to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-love-life-but-it-is-hard-and-i-have-so-much-so-very-much-to-learn/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [... These are my hands My knees. I may be skin and bone, Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman. ... --Lady Lazarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/these-are-my-hands-my-knees-i-may-be-skin-and-bone-nevertheless-i-am/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Sure, I’m dramatic and sloppily semi-cynical and semi-sentimental. But, in leisure years I could grow and choose my way. Now I am living on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/sure-i-m-dramatic-and-sloppily-semi-cynical-and-semi-sentimental-but/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“People were made of nothing so much as dust, and I couldn't see that doctoring all that dust was a bit better than writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/people-were-made-of-nothing-so-much-as-dust-and-i-couldn-t-see-that/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I couldn't stand the idea of a woman having to have a single pure life and a man being able to have a double…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-couldn-t-stand-the-idea-of-a-woman-having-to-have-a-single-pure/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I saw the gooseflesh on my skin. I did not know what made it. I was not cold. Had a ghost passed over? No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-saw-the-gooseflesh-on-my-skin-i-did-not-know-what-made-it-i-was-not/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I have to live my life, and it is the only one I’ll ever have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-to-live-my-life-and-it-is-the-only-one-i-ll-ever-have/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The city had faded my tan, though. I looked yellow as a Chinaman. Ordinarily, I would have been nervous about my dress and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-city-had-faded-my-tan-though-i-looked-yellow-as-a-chinaman/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Joy:show joy & enjoy: then others will be joyful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/joy-show-joy-enjoy-then-others-will-be-joyful/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [A million years of evolution, Eric said bitterly, and what are we? Animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/a-million-years-of-evolution-eric-said-bitterly-and-what-are-we/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I have stitched life into me like a rare organ --from "Three Women: A Poem for Three Voices", written 1962”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-stitched-life-into-me-like-a-rare-organ-from-three-women-a/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [It is so much safer not to feel, not to let the world touch me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-is-so-much-safer-not-to-feel-not-to-let-the-world-touch-me/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“Flute Notes from a Reedy Pond" Now coldness comes sifting down, layer after layer, To our bower at the lily root. Overhead the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/flute-notes-from-a-reedy-pond-now-coldness-comes-sifting-down-layer/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The most saddening thing is to admit that I am not in love. I can only love (if that means self denial - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-most-saddening-thing-is-to-admit-that-i-am-not-in-love-i-can-only/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) [Explore all 1,098 Sylvia Plath quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## More Capable quotes > [When we are capable of living in the moment free from the tyranny of "shoulds," free from the nagging sensation that this moment isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-z-borysenko/when-we-are-capable-of-living-in-the-moment-free-from-the-tyranny-of/) [Joan Z. Borysenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-z-borysenko/) > [Everybody is different. Some writers can write reams of great books and then J. D. Salinger wrote just a few. Beethoven wrote nine symphonies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-joel/everybody-is-different-some-writers-can-write-reams-of-great-books/) [Billy Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-joel/) > [People are capable of great, great change during the span of one lifetime. And women even more than men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/people-are-capable-of-great-great-change-during-the-span-of-one/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [But, outside of being a sweet little girl, she was awfully dumb and capable of doing horrible things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/but-outside-of-being-a-sweet-little-girl-she-was-awfully-dumb-and/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [I was terrible student. I was capable, but I never like being told what to do, so I was always in the bottom class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-lilley/i-was-terrible-student-i-was-capable-but-i-never-like-being-told-what/) [Chris Lilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-lilley/) > [Not everyone is capable of madness; and of those lucky enough to be capable, not many have the courage for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/not-everyone-is-capable-of-madness-and-of-those-lucky-enough-to-be/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [ \[The Community's\] crosses and trials give me confidence. But I derive my hope above all, and most especially, from our utter incapacity, for it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-guerin/the-community-s-crosses-and-trials-give-me-confidence-but-i-derive-my/) [Theodore Guerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-guerin/) > [The mathematical facts worthy of being studied are those which, by their analogy with other facts, are capable of leading us to the knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-poincare/the-mathematical-facts-worthy-of-being-studied-are-those-which-by/) [Henri Poincare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-poincare/) > [“If you not yet try How to know you can or not?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sopharat/if-you-not-yet-try-how-to-know-you-can-or-not/) [Sopharat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sopharat/) > [I'm attracted to the garden, without a doubt, but I always try and image the wolf that's there, too. 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