In Goya´s drawings, padlocks are a recurrent symbol of closed minds. Also, in the literature of the time, a padlock shutting a mouth was frequently used to express a lack of critical judgment, or the submission of women, often sexual related, with the use of chastity belts. Goya´s handwritten title alludes to the falsehood of a trust that is not based on reciprocal sincerity but on mutual prohibition.

Matilla Rodríguez, José Manuel, Ligereza y atrevimiento. Dibujos de Goya, Santander, Fundación Botín, 2017, p.38 n.6; 160, n.6