--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The tragedy of love is indifference." description: "\"The tragedy of love is indifference.\" — W. Somerset Maugham" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4da/w-somerset-maugham-237_indifference_the-tragedy-of-love-is-indifference-3259_325907.jpg" --- # The tragedy of love is indifference. ![“The tragedy of love is indifference.” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4da/w-somerset-maugham-237_indifference_the-tragedy-of-love-is-indifference-3259_325907.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4da/w-somerset-maugham-237_indifference_the-tragedy-of-love-is-indifference-3259_325907.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4da/w-somerset-maugham-237_indifference_the-tragedy-of-love-is-indifference-3259_325907.jpg) > “The tragedy of love is indifference.” [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Indifference is the ultimate tragedy in love because it nullifies feeling and connection. **In simple terms:** Indifference kills love. Key Takeaway Avoid indifference; stay engaged. Themes love indifference tragedy relationships Mood sad reflective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - marriage - friendship - family - caregiving Key Concepts emotional neglect human connection Questions to Reflect On - How does indifference protect you? - When is indifference a sign of self‑preservation? A Different Perspective Indifference can be a protective defense, not always tragic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-indifference-697467/) [Love is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-is/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) [Tragedy Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy-love-1015764/) [Tragedy Of Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy-of-love-2/) ## Related quotes > [The tragedy of love is not death or separation. How long do you think it would have been before one or other of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-tragedy-of-love-is-not-death-or-separation-how-long-do-you-think/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“When I look back now and reflect on that brief passionate love of Red and Sally, I think that perhaps they should thank the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-i-look-back-now-and-reflect-on-that-brief-passionate-love-of-red/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“None of us nine with the sixes. That’s the tragedy of love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/none-of-us-nine-with-the-sixes-that-s-the-tragedy-of-love/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“An anniversary is a celebration of the triumph and tragedy of love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/an-anniversary-is-a-celebration-of-the-triumph-and-tragedy-of-love/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [“This is the internal tragedy of love. If love is successful, if our love is returned and develops into a relationship, the person we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/this-is-the-internal-tragedy-of-love-if-love-is-successful-if-our/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [The villain in 'Call Me by Your Name' is the tragedy of love - what seems to be part of the deal you sign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothee-chalamet/the-villain-in-call-me-by-your-name-is-the-tragedy-of-love-what-seems/) [Timothee Chalamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothee-chalamet/) > [To give space when what one most yearns for is closeness, that is both the great test and great tragedy of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/to-give-space-when-what-one-most-yearns-for-is-closeness-that-is-both/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [“His thoughts are unfathomable & her emotions are all over the place. Oh! The tragedy of Love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankita-singhal/his-thoughts-are-unfathomable-her-emotions-are-all-over-the-place-oh/) [Ankita Singhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankita-singhal/) > [“The tragedy of love is that it never ends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-alexander/the-tragedy-of-love-is-that-it-never-ends/) [Felix Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-alexander/) > [“This is the great tragedy of love—even if you are lucky enough to stumble on it, it never lasts. Every young person believes that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-mary-rothschild/this-is-the-great-tragedy-of-love-even-if-you-are-lucky-enough-to/) [Hannah Mary Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-mary-rothschild/) > [The opposite of love is indifference, and the opposite of happiness is boredom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-opposite-of-love-is-indifference-and-the-opposite-of-happiness-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I love your indifference. I love how you really just don't give a shit what people think.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/i-love-your-indifference-i-love-how-you-really-just-don-t-give-a-shit/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [Being a stranger was like being dead, and brought to mind how, in a book he had read that most folks misunderstood one common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/being-a-stranger-was-like-being-dead-and-brought-to-mind-how-in-a/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [Hatred is so much closer to love than indifference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/hatred-is-so-much-closer-to-love-than-indifference/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [“There’s a very thin line between love and hate, and the opposite to love is indifference. So…” Soft lips touch my forehead for an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-murphy/there-s-a-very-thin-line-between-love-and-hate-and-the-opposite-to/) [A.E. Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-murphy/) ## More by W. Somerset Maugham > [“A man thinks it quite natural that he should fall out of love with a woman, but it never strikes him for a moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-thinks-it-quite-natural-that-he-should-fall-out-of-love-with-a/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A man's work reveals him. In social intercourse he gives you the surface that he wishes the world to accept, but in his book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-s-work-reveals-him-in-social-intercourse-he-gives-you-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/love-is-only-a-dirty-trick-played-on-us-to-achieve-continuation-of/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The world is hard and cruel. We are here none knows why, and we go none knows whither. We must be very humble. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-world-is-hard-and-cruel-we-are-here-none-knows-why-and-we-go-none/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“There is no more merit in having read a thousand books than in having ploughed a thousand fields.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/there-is-no-more-merit-in-having-read-a-thousand-books-than-in-having/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“I wanted to live again and again. I was willing to accept every sort of life, no matter what its pain and sorrow; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-wanted-to-live-again-and-again-i-was-willing-to-accept-every-sort/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [In Hollywood, the women are all peaches. It makes one long for an apple occasionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/in-hollywood-the-women-are-all-peaches-it-makes-one-long-for-an-apple/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/follow-your-inclinations-with-due-regard-to-the-policeman-round-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“His love became a prison from which he longed to escape, but he had not the strength merely to open the door-that was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/his-love-became-a-prison-from-which-he-longed-to-escape-but-he-had/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [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/) > [If only the good were a little less heavy-footed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-only-the-good-were-a-little-less-heavy-footed/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/perfection-has-one-grave-defect-it-is-apt-to-be-dull/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A God that can be understood is no God. Who can explain the Infinite in words?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-god-that-can-be-understood-is-no-god-who-can-explain-the-infinite/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“My dear, you used to be quite a dish; now you're quite a tureen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/my-dear-you-used-to-be-quite-a-dish-now-you-re-quite-a-tureen/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) [Explore all 840 W. Somerset Maugham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## More Indifference quotes > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [“Courage did not come from the need to survive, or from a brute indifference inherited from someone else, but from a driving need for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/courage-did-not-come-from-the-need-to-survive-or-from-a-brute/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Indifference is harder to fight than hostility, and there is nothing that kills an agitation like having everybody admit that it is fundamentally right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crystal-eastman/indifference-is-harder-to-fight-than-hostility-and-there-is-nothing/) [Crystal Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal-eastman/) > [Love and hate, despite their polar opposites, are both feelings that are induced by passion. I can handle that. It's the indifference I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/love-and-hate-despite-their-polar-opposites-are-both-feelings-that/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [“I wasn't sure which I appreciated less—the insincere concern or the genuine indifference.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-graham/i-wasn-t-sure-which-i-appreciated-less-the-insincere-concern-or-the/) [Arthur Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-graham/) > [If I were entering adulthood now instead of in the environment of fifty years ago, I would choose a career that kept me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/if-i-were-entering-adulthood-now-instead-of-in-the-environment-of/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [Desire is half of life, indifference is half of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/desire-is-half-of-life-indifference-is-half-of-death/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What's wrong with death sir? What are we so mortally afraid of? Why can't we treat death with a certain amount of humanity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/what-s-wrong-with-death-sir-what-are-we-so-mortally-afraid-of-why-can/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [I'm not very interested in people. I recognize it in myself - there is a basic indifference toward people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-m-not-very-interested-in-people-i-recognize-it-in-myself-there-is-a/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Adorn thyself with simplicity and with indifference towards the things which lie between virtue and vice. Love mankind. Follow God. The poet says that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/adorn-thyself-with-simplicity-and-with-indifference-towards-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [One's own troubles can be borne with fortitude; only a monster of indifference can bear the sufferings of others with fortitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-ertz/one-s-own-troubles-can-be-borne-with-fortitude-only-a-monster-of/) [Susan Ertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-ertz/) > [Many men without morals have attacked religion because it was contrary to their inclinations. Many wise men have despised it because it seemed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-d-holbach/many-men-without-morals-have-attacked-religion-because-it-was/) [Baron d'Holbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-d-holbach/) > [Indifference to one's own faith is no proof of tolerance. Loyalty to one's own is part of a larger loyalty to faith generally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abba-hillel-silver/indifference-to-one-s-own-faith-is-no-proof-of-tolerance-loyalty-to/) [Abba Hillel Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abba-hillel-silver/) > [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) [Browse all 1,128 Indifference quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The tragedy of love is indifference.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. Somerset Maugham" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-tragedy-of-love-is-indifference/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Indifference" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-tragedy-of-love-is-indifference/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4da/w-somerset-maugham-237_indifference_the-tragedy-of-love-is-indifference-3259_325907.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4da/w-somerset-maugham-237_indifference_the-tragedy-of-love-is-indifference-3259_325907.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4da/w-somerset-maugham-237_indifference_the-tragedy-of-love-is-indifference-3259_325907.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The tragedy of love is indifference.” — W. Somerset Maugham", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "W. Somerset Maugham", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The tragedy of love is indifference.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-tragedy-of-love-is-indifference/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-tragedy-of-love-is-indifference/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```