The Vampire Diaries' Original Hybrid and avid artist, Klaus Mikaelson, consistently painted himself as a heartless and selfish villain who endured over a thousand years of tumultuous relationships; so, the fact that he never turned his humanity off is both impressive and concerning. When vampires willfully turn their humanity off, it is often due to suffering or avoiding the pain of a deep emotional wound for someone they are equally profoundly attached to, evidenced by Elena turning her humanity off to avoid grieving Jeremy's death. The result of turning off their humanity usually left a careless trail of dangerous impulsivity, senseless bloodshed, and snarky banter. For Klaus, that's just another day.
Klaus walks the tightrope of pain and love in a way that could be perceived as either emotionally inept or selfishly pragmatic. No one was worse than Klaus in that respect, but he always had a reason for his actions. However, the genesis of his ruthless and amoral behavior is not due to pure maliciousness. Klaus' estranged relationship with his mother and father left him with attachment wounds and abandonment issues so deeply scarring that he considered himself broken and unlovable. What remained was a quiet, desperate longing for love and connection to avoid the pain of isolation and loneliness that his parents had left him with.
Vampire Diaries' Klaus Was Already The Worst Version Of Himself
Klaus' ideal family grew from his bond and promise with Elijah and Rebekah. There was nothing he would not do for his family trio or to keep their love and connection, even if he had to dagger them. While on the one hand, he did those things to keep his family together. On the other hand, he also did it to keep himself from falling apart. Despite how badly Klaus was treated in Vampire Diaries, his humanity remained within control partly because he believed in his siblings' "always and forever" promise. But the more concerning reason why Klaus never turned his humanity off is that he believed he was indeed a monster.
Thus, turning off his humanity would be unnecessary. His terror of reign couldn't possibly get any worse if he were already the worst version of himself. Klaus' possessive attachment to Elijah and Rebekah often led to threats, if not murderous, acts upon those who dared to come between him and his siblings. This reinforced his negative view of himself, as he was unaware that he often denied Elijah and Rebekah a chance for love and happiness outside their circle.
Like Damon being a villain sometimes, Klaus understood a truth that may have helped keep his humanity intact after much loss and many betrayals from those dear to him. He states, “As you may yet to realize, Cami, the line between what brings us pain and what sustains us is far thinner than one imagines.” That line, for Klaus, was family. His plots and ploys to control them were to selfishly keep them together. It was a love worth fighting for and dying for. That meant Klaus needed to be in complete control of himself. To that end, turning his humanity off would have been like painting without paint.
Klaus’ vicious humanity provided him the means to mercilessly slaughter his enemies and put down his family when necessary, all for the sake of keeping The Originals' family vow. Therefore, Klaus, without his humanity, if nothing else, would have hardened his heart to become dispassionate toward his family; thus, he risked destroying the love and connection he desperately needs from the only people he believes capable of genuinely caring for him. That was likely an unfathomable prospective future that would be too painful for Klaus to endure. So, he stopped at nothing to keep his family together, even if it meant being a monster.
Vampire Diaries' Klaus' Love Interests Gave Him A Sense Of Humanity
Though his childhood trauma may have prepared him to combat life's unfair cruelty and emotional turmoil with his own ferocity, Klaus' hyperfocus on protecting his family was only briefly absconded by the few moments of romantic love. His most notable love interests were The Vampire Diaries' Caroline Forbes and The Originals' Camille O'Connell. Much like why Rebekah was always a match for Klaus, these two headstrong women challenged Klaus in a way that made him confront his actions, his past, and his demons. They saw who he was and were, eventually, unafraid because they also understood why.
Klaus found himself caring for them in a way that motivated him to act in their best interest without expecting a quid pro quo. Unfortunately, such rare mercy or benevolence out of love was perceived by Klaus as a sign of weakness or an opportunity for his enemies to hurt him by hurting them. Romance thus amounted to a distraction. Yet, he hoped to be truly seen and understood, cared for by someone who didn't feel obligated to do so by pact, blood, or Vampire Diaries' controversial sire bond. Caroline and Camille gave Klaus not only that opportunity but also the opportunity to be more than a monster.
Why The Originals' Camille Was Klaus' Greatest Love
Being a monster is part of what made Klaus see himself as unlovable. For someone to love him romantically would either mean they were as broken as he believed himself to be or he wasn't as evil as he seemed. The latter was a well-kept secret that Camille was able to see through. After telling her his life story, Camille understood the trauma and pain that gave birth to Klaus, the monster, and his haunting demons. Then, Camille did the one thing his parents never could. She saw the monster and loved him anyway.
What happened to Klaus’ humanity after living a millennium in the darkness led him to believe his demons would destroy everything beautiful he held dear. So he distanced himself from romance. He chose to endure being unlovable alone rather than risk hurting a lover. Camille could see Klaus’ struggle with his demons, to fight the fire of the darkness with the same fury that garnered his evil reputation, was a battle with himself never again to be hurt the way Esther and Mikael hurt him. There was no strength, power, or peace in love, only a thousand years of ineffable pain and insufferable loneliness.
As one of The Originals' strongest vampires, Klaus' humanity was the one thing in life he had absolute control over. Even better, it could neither hurt him nor abandon him. It’s why he loved painting. Every stroke was an exercise in control. Turning his humanity off would have been an admittance that he had no power or control over himself, another reminder of the weakness Mikael taunted him for. Furthermore, his deep desire to be loved would have been unobtainable had he turned off his humanity. Camille realized, however, Klaus was afraid to let himself find love because love is unruly. Therefore, trusting his heart with someone else was an impossible challenge.
In doing so, he could see the light within, telling Camille in Klaus' most touching scene: “Don’t you think for a moment that you failed me. You stayed in my hand, quelled my rage, you inspired goodness in me, and unlike all of the souls I’ve encountered and forgotten in the long march of time, I will carry you with me.” Klaus felt powerful as a monster, but Camille helped him find the strength and power of love he never thought possible. Her love and her death taught The Vampire Diaries’ Klaus to fight for hope, that spark of light worth sacrificing his life for the ones he loved.