--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not so,” he answered. “Well, I know that…" description: "\"“Not so,” he answered. “Well, I know that, did I move and speak in your London, none there are who would not know me for a stranger. That is not enough..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a8/bram-stoker-718_common-people_not-so-he-answered-well-i-know-that-did_1788253.jpg" --- # Not so,” he answered. “Well, I know that, did I move and… ![“Not so,” he answered. “Well, I know that, did I move and speak in your London, none there are who would not know me for a stranger. That is not enough for me. Here I am noble; I am boyar; the common people know me, and I am master. But a stranger in a strange land, he is no one; men know him…” quote by Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a8/bram-stoker-718_common-people_not-so-he-answered-well-i-know-that-did_1788253.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a8/bram-stoker-718_common-people_not-so-he-answered-well-i-know-that-did_1788253.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a8/bram-stoker-718_common-people_not-so-he-answered-well-i-know-that-did_1788253.jpg) > ““Not so,” he answered. “Well, I know that, did I move and speak in your London, none there are who would not know me for a stranger. That is not enough for me. Here I am noble; I am boyar; the common people know me, and I am master. But a stranger in a strange land, he is no one; men know him not—and to know not is to care not for. I am content if I am like the rest, so that no man stops if he see me, or pause in his speaking if he hear my words, ‘Ha, ha! a stranger!’ I have been so long master that I would be master still—or at least that none other should be master of me. You come to me not alone as agent of my friend Peter Hawkins, of Exeter, to tell me all about my new estate in London.”” [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character asserts his identity and authority, dismissing the outsider’s insignificance, reflecting pride and isolation. **In simple terms:** He claims power, rejects strangers. Key Takeaway Recognize the limits of authority. Themes identity power isolation Mood dramatic reflective Type fiction character study philosophical When to use this quote - leadership decisions - cultural integration - personal branding Key Concepts pride social hierarchy belonging Questions to Reflect On - What drives his need for dominance? - How does alienation affect his choices? A Different Perspective Authority can blind one to others’ perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Common people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-people/) [Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stranger/) [Stranger in a strange land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stranger-in-a-strange-land/) ## Related quotes > [But a stranger in a strange land, he is no one. Men know him not, and to know not is to care not for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/but-a-stranger-in-a-strange-land-he-is-no-one-men-know-him-not-and-to/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [Do you know that being a stranger is the hardest thing that can happen to any one in all this world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-stratton-porter/do-you-know-that-being-a-stranger-is-the-hardest-thing-that-can/) [Gene Stratton-Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-stratton-porter/) > [ “\[...\] Look at the way people try to make points of contact with others when they meet. Look at the way you instinctively try… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/look-at-the-way-people-try-to-make-points-of-contact-with-others-when-2/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [I treat auditions like I treated my first dates. It's an opportunity to get to know a stranger and to learn from each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-jackman/i-treat-auditions-like-i-treated-my-first-dates-it-s-an-opportunity/) [Hugh Jackman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-jackman/) > [“Unlearn everything you know. Become a stranger to every person you've ever connected to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basith/unlearn-everything-you-know-become-a-stranger-to-every-person-you-ve/) [Basith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basith/) > [It becomes so amazing when you realized your hater is someone you don't even know, a stranger you have nothing to do with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/it-becomes-so-amazing-when-you-realized-your-hater-is-someone-you-don/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [I don't know what she is now. A stranger, mostly. It's as if she has become a part of a different world, one that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/i-don-t-know-what-she-is-now-a-stranger-mostly-it-s-as-if-she-has/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [“I was alone, with a stranger, inside the walls of a dark palace, in a strange snow-changed city, in the heart of the Ice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-was-alone-with-a-stranger-inside-the-walls-of-a-dark-palace-in-a/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [ “\[A\]s I stepped over the curb, I became excruciatingly aware of my skin color, and my heart pounded with social anxiety. In going around… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-taylor/a-s-i-stepped-over-the-curb-i-became-excruciatingly-aware-of-my-skin/) [Jared Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-taylor/) > [I had crossed de line of which I had so long been dreaming. I was free; but dere was no one to welcome me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-tubman/i-had-crossed-de-line-of-which-i-had-so-long-been-dreaming-i-was-free/) [Harriet Tubman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-tubman/) > [“I was not giving answers. I was trying to shake the reader loose from some preconceptions and induce him to think for himself, along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/i-was-not-giving-answers-i-was-trying-to-shake-the-reader-loose-from/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [I've never understood how God could expect His creatures to pick the one true religion by faith-it strikes me as a sloppy way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/i-ve-never-understood-how-god-could-expect-his-creatures-to-pick-the/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“in this direction-and he has been dead for not more than a quarter of a century. His influence is far more subtle and indirect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hyatt/in-this-direction-and-he-has-been-dead-for-not-more-than-a-quarter-of/) [Christopher Hyatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hyatt/) > [To be a stranger in a strange land: Whenever one feasts, one thinks of one's brother twice as much as before, There where my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wang-wei/to-be-a-stranger-in-a-strange-land-whenever-one-feasts-one-thinks-of/) [Wang Wei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wang-wei/) > [There's been a long lineage of a stranger in a strange land, whether it's 'E.T.,' 'Starman,' or other movies about trying to connect with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/there-s-been-a-long-lineage-of-a-stranger-in-a-strange-land-whether/) [David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) ## More by Bram Stoker > [“I promise." and as I said it I felt that from that instant a door had been shut between us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/i-promise-and-as-i-said-it-i-felt-that-from-that-instant-a-door-had/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [Remember my friend, that knowledge is stronger than memory, and we should not trust the weaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/remember-my-friend-that-knowledge-is-stronger-than-memory-and-we/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [“He became almost speechless for a minute, and then went on, "Do you know what the place is? Have you seen that awful den…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/he-became-almost-speechless-for-a-minute-and-then-went-on-do-you-know/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [“..the world seems full of good men--even if there are monsters in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/the-world-seems-full-of-good-men-even-if-there-are-monsters-in-it/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [It is something like the way dame Nature gathers round a foreign body an envelope of some insensitive tissue which can protect from evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/it-is-something-like-the-way-dame-nature-gathers-round-a-foreign-body/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [Euthanasia" is an excellent and comforting word! I am grateful to whoever invented it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/euthanasia-is-an-excellent-and-comforting-word-i-am-grateful-to/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [Our toil must be in silence, and our efforts all in secret; for this enlightened age, when men believe not even what they see,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/our-toil-must-be-in-silence-and-our-efforts-all-in-secret-for-this/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [“It seems to me that the further East you go the more unpunctual are the trains. What ought they to be in China? -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/it-seems-to-me-that-the-further-east-you-go-the-more-unpunctual-are/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [Despair has its own calms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/despair-has-its-own-calms/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [“...his open nostril quivered with intent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/his-open-nostril-quivered-with-intent/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [“And you, their best beloved one, are now to me, flesh of my flesh; blood of my blood; kin of my kin; my bountiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/and-you-their-best-beloved-one-are-now-to-me-flesh-of-my-flesh-blood/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [The only beautiful thing in the world whose beauty lasts for ever is a pure, fair soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/the-only-beautiful-thing-in-the-world-whose-beauty-lasts-for-ever-is/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [“In manus tuas, Domine!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/in-manus-tuas-domine/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [“find that the district he named is in the extreme east of the country, just on the borders of three states, Transylvania, Moldavia, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/find-that-the-district-he-named-is-in-the-extreme-east-of-the-country/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [She has man's brain--a brain that a man should have were he much gifted--and woman's heart. The good God fashioned her for a purpose,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/she-has-man-s-brain-a-brain-that-a-man-should-have-were-he-much/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) [Explore all 354 Bram Stoker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) ## More Common people quotes > [“For rulers, religion is a great tool to rule the common people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/for-rulers-religion-is-a-great-tool-to-rule-the-common-people/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [Government not just for a few, it belongs to the common people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/government-not-just-for-a-few-it-belongs-to-the-common-people/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [“To riot or not to riot, that is the question.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/to-riot-or-not-to-riot-that-is-the-question/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Adventure is the invitation to common people to become uncommon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-miller/adventure-is-the-invitation-to-common-people-to-become-uncommon/) [Warren Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-miller/) > [History more often records the brilliant successes and spectacular defeats of contending forces than the effect of war on the common people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mildred-cable/history-more-often-records-the-brilliant-successes-and-spectacular/) [Mildred Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mildred-cable/) > [“Because the Indians are planning to start war now, the common people want all of them destroyed so that they can live in peace;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-martin-boltzius/because-the-indians-are-planning-to-start-war-now-the-common-people/) [Johann Martin Boltzius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-martin-boltzius/) > [That wise Men have in all Ages thought Government necessary for the Good of Mankind; and, that wise Governments have always thought Religion necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/that-wise-men-have-in-all-ages-thought-government-necessary-for-the/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Where there is no danger of overt action there is rarely any interference with freedom. That is why there has so often been amazing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/where-there-is-no-danger-of-overt-action-there-is-rarely-any/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [The common people feel themselves oppressed by the grasping of some, and their vanity is flattered by others. Fired with evil passions, they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polybius/the-common-people-feel-themselves-oppressed-by-the-grasping-of-some/) [Polybius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polybius/) > [“I've said this before: a lot of people think they're artists because they feel things deeply. 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Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-l-shelley/) [Browse all 297 Common people quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-people/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Not so,” he answered. “Well, I know that, did I move and speak in your London, none there are who would not know me for a stranger. That is not enough for me. Here I am noble; I am boyar; the common people know me, and I am master. But a stranger in a strange land, he is no one; men know him not—and to know not is to care not for. I am content if I am like the rest, so that no man stops if he see me, or pause in his speaking if he hear my words, ‘Ha, ha! a stranger!’ I have been so long master that I would be master still—or at least that none other should be master of me. 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