--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Lust and self-mutilation are closely…" description: "\"Lust and self-mutilation are closely related impulses. There are also self-mutilators among knowers: they do not want to be creators under any circumst..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bef/friedrich-nietzsche-15_castration_lust-and-self-mutilation-are-closely-rel_2434777.jpg" --- # Lust and self-mutilation are closely related impulses… ![“Lust and self-mutilation are closely related impulses. There are also self-mutilators among knowers: they do not want to be creators under any circumstances.” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bef/friedrich-nietzsche-15_castration_lust-and-self-mutilation-are-closely-rel_2434777.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bef/friedrich-nietzsche-15_castration_lust-and-self-mutilation-are-closely-rel_2434777.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bef/friedrich-nietzsche-15_castration_lust-and-self-mutilation-are-closely-rel_2434777.jpg) > “Lust and self-mutilation are closely related impulses. There are also self-mutilators among knowers: they do not want to be creators under any circumstances.” [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The drive to indulge in desire and the urge to harm oneself stem from similar inner conflicts, and even those who avoid creation may still self‑sabotage. **In simple terms:** Desire and self‑harm share roots; non‑creators can self‑sabotage. Key Takeaway Recognize and redirect self‑destructive impulses. Themes psychology philosophy self‑destruction Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - creative block - addiction recovery - personal growth - mental health therapy Key Concepts Nietzschean critique impulse control Questions to Reflect On - What inner conflict fuels your self‑sabotage? - How can you transform destructive impulses into constructive action? A Different Perspective Self‑destruction can also stem from fear of responsibility, not just desire. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Castration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/castration/) [Circumstances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circumstances/) [Creator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creator/) [Impulse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impulse/) [Impulses Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impulses-self-326304/) [Lust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lust/) [Lust Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lust-self-326303/) [Mutilation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mutilation/) [Related](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/related/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self mutilation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-mutilation/) [Self Mutilators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-mutilators-326302/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [The Christian faith from the beginning, is sacrifice the sacrifice of all freedom, all pride, all self-confidence of spirit, it is at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-christian-faith-from-the-beginning-is-sacrifice-the-sacrifice-of/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Well how many troubles should equal a legitimate reason for self-mutilation? Ten? Twenty? One hundred? And how monumental must these troubles be? There’s probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-kettlewell/well-how-many-troubles-should-equal-a-legitimate-reason-for-self/) [Caroline Kettlewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-kettlewell/) > [Maybe writing can't be taught, but editing can be taught—prayer, fasting and self-mutilation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-barthelme/maybe-writing-can-t-be-taught-but-editing-can-be-taught-prayer/) [Donald Barthelme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-barthelme/) > [The first act of violence that patriarchy demands of males is not violence toward women. Instead patriarchy demands of all males that they engage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/the-first-act-of-violence-that-patriarchy-demands-of-males-is-not/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [“How did one even fraternize with people who could not entertain vivid scenarios of self-mutilation? How was the sexual act even possible if one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/how-did-one-even-fraternize-with-people-who-could-not-entertain-vivid/) [Ben Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/) > [Male domination, and the low and stigmatised status of women, cause teenage girls to engage in punishment of their bodies through eating disorders and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-jeffreys/male-domination-and-the-low-and-stigmatised-status-of-women-cause/) [Sheila Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-jeffreys/) > [Ripped apart, limb by limb, shattereing bones, heart caving in. Self mutilation, scar after scar, empty and having warn like tar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sangfroid-stalker/ripped-apart-limb-by-limb-shattereing-bones-heart-caving-in-self/) [SangFroid Stalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sangfroid-stalker/) > [Self-mutilation is a frightening barrier that keeps us from seeing a person who is lost, in pain, and in desperate need of help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-levenkron/self-mutilation-is-a-frightening-barrier-that-keeps-us-from-seeing-a/) [Steven Levenkron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-levenkron/) > [“You might imagine that a person would resort to self-mutilation only under extremes of duress, but once I'd crossed that line the first time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-kettlewell/you-might-imagine-that-a-person-would-resort-to-self-mutilation-only/) [Caroline Kettlewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-kettlewell/) > [“I didn't respond to him. Couldn't speak at all. Couldn't look at his self-mutilation--not even the clean, bandaged version of it. Instead, I looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/i-didn-t-respond-to-him-couldn-t-speak-at-all-couldn-t-look-at-his/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [You drag me out of my comfort zone, in the process of stealing my heart. You take me as a Barbie doll, and rip…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aly-johnson/you-drag-me-out-of-my-comfort-zone-in-the-process-of-stealing-my/) [Aly Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aly-johnson/) > [The elimination of the will altogether and the switching off of the emotions all and sundry, is tantamount to the elimination of reason: intellectual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-elimination-of-the-will-altogether-and-the-switching-off-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“The worst mutilation of man that can be imagined presented as the "good man".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-worst-mutilation-of-man-that-can-be-imagined-presented-as-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I hold the blade in trembling hands Prepare to make it, but Just then the phone rang, I never had the nerve to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pink-floyd/i-hold-the-blade-in-trembling-hands-prepare-to-make-it-but-just-then/) [Pink Floyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pink-floyd/) > [“I tried cutting myself to express my heartbreak over Tommy (Lord Flood) rejecting me, but OMFG it hurts like flaming fuck.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/i-tried-cutting-myself-to-express-my-heartbreak-over-tommy-lord-flood/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) ## More by Friedrich Nietzsche > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Every select man strives instinctively for a citadel and a privacy, where he is FREE from the crowd, the many, the majority-- where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-select-man-strives-instinctively-for-a-citadel-and-a-privacy/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“It breaks my heart. Better than your words, your eye tells me all your peril. You are not yet free, you still search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-breaks-my-heart-better-than-your-words-your-eye-tells-me-all-your/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“79. A soul which knows that it is loved, but does not itself love, betrays its sediment: its dregs come up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/79-a-soul-which-knows-that-it-is-loved-but-does-not-itself-love/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [We deceive ourselves when giving respect to the person for whom we have surrendered ourselves, when we respectively expect them to be as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-deceive-ourselves-when-giving-respect-to-the-person-for-whom-we/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“The great periods of our life occur when we gain the courage to rechristen what is bad about us as what is best.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-great-periods-of-our-life-occur-when-we-gain-the-courage-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“What is life? Life - that is: continually shedding something that wants to die. Life - that is: being cruel and inexorable against everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-is-life-life-that-is-continually-shedding-something-that-wants/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [It is thus only this personal feeling of misery that we get rid of by acts of pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-thus-only-this-personal-feeling-of-misery-that-we-get-rid-of-by/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Writers whose thoughts are expressed with clarity and precision are assumed by readers to be superficial. Where the meaning is obscured, then readers give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/writers-whose-thoughts-are-expressed-with-clarity-and-precision-are/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“he does not wear a twitching, mobile, human face, but rather a mask, as it were, with its features in dignified equilibrium; he does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-does-not-wear-a-twitching-mobile-human-face-but-rather-a-mask-as/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Chastity is a virtue with some, but with many it is almost a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/chastity-is-a-virtue-with-some-but-with-many-it-is-almost-a-vice/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The earth is like the breasts of a woman: useful as well as pleasing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-earth-is-like-the-breasts-of-a-woman-useful-as-well-as-pleasing/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Of all that is written I love only what a man has written in his own blood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/of-all-that-is-written-i-love-only-what-a-man-has-written-in-his-own/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Pain makes hens and poets cackle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/pain-makes-hens-and-poets-cackle/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) [Explore all 3,486 Friedrich Nietzsche quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More Castration quotes > [“the mind-numbing routine. It was the castration of thought,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/the-mind-numbing-routine-it-was-the-castration-of-thought/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“You can date every girl in town as far as I’m concerned. I hate you. I pray every night that you’ll fall victim to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrington/you-can-date-every-girl-in-town-as-far-as-i-m-concerned-i-hate-you-i/) [Kim Harrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrington/) > [“Female castration results in concentration of her feelings upon her male companion, and her impotence in confrontations with her own kind. Because all her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/female-castration-results-in-concentration-of-her-feelings-upon-her/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [“One of the greatest offenses inflicted on Man is castration.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vd/one-of-the-greatest-offenses-inflicted-on-man-is-castration/) [VD](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vd/) > [Believe what is productive is not sedentary but nomadic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/believe-what-is-productive-is-not-sedentary-but-nomadic/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Withdraw allegiance from the old categories of the Negative (law, limit, castration, lack, lacuna), which the Western thought has so long held sacred as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/withdraw-allegiance-from-the-old-categories-of-the-negative-law-limit/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [“Rape and sexual assault ... should be understood not just as a form of forced sex, they should also be understood as as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/rape-and-sexual-assault-should-be-understood-not-just-as-a-form-of/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“One of the greatest offenses that can be inflicted on Man from birth is castration.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vd/one-of-the-greatest-offenses-that-can-be-inflicted-on-man-from-birth/) [VD](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vd/) > [“Rumour has it you've turned castration into an occupation." "You go cutting one guy's cock off and you never hear the end of it,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kameron-hurley/rumour-has-it-you-ve-turned-castration-into-an-occupation-you-go/) [Kameron Hurley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kameron-hurley/) > [“I pray every night that you'll fall victim to some strange and unusual castration accident.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrington/i-pray-every-night-that-you-ll-fall-victim-to-some-strange-and/) [Kim Harrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrington/) > [Without poetry, religion becomes obscure, false, and malignant; without philosophy, licentious in all wantonness, and lascivious to the point of self-castration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/without-poetry-religion-becomes-obscure-false-and-malignant-without/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [The worst thing that can happen to an artist is to be subsidized by the state. It leads to an intellectual and artistic castration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/the-worst-thing-that-can-happen-to-an-artist-is-to-be-subsidized-by/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [But never fear, gentlemen; castration was really not the point of feminism, and we women are too busy eviscerating one another to take you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/but-never-fear-gentlemen-castration-was-really-not-the-point-of/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [The aim of jazz is the mechanical reproduction of a regressive moment, a castration symbolism. 'Give up your masculinity, let yourself be castrated,' the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/the-aim-of-jazz-is-the-mechanical-reproduction-of-a-regressive-moment/) [Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/) > [ “...\[F\]riendship is a method of castration that doesn't use a sharp object.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-lockhart/f-riendship-is-a-method-of-castration-that-doesn-t-use-a-sharp-object/) [E. Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-lockhart/) [Browse all 35 Castration quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/castration/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Lust and self-mutilation are closely related impulses. There are also self-mutilators among knowers: they do not want to be creators under any circumstances.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/lust-and-self-mutilation-are-closely-related-impulses-there-are-also/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Castration" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/lust-and-self-mutilation-are-closely-related-impulses-there-are-also/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bef/friedrich-nietzsche-15_castration_lust-and-self-mutilation-are-closely-rel_2434777.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bef/friedrich-nietzsche-15_castration_lust-and-self-mutilation-are-closely-rel_2434777.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bef/friedrich-nietzsche-15_castration_lust-and-self-mutilation-are-closely-rel_2434777.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Lust and self-mutilation are closely related impulses. There are also self-mutilators among knowers: they do…” — Friedrich Nietzsche", "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": "Friedrich Nietzsche", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Lust and self-mutilation are closely related...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/lust-and-self-mutilation-are-closely-related-impulses-there-are-also/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/lust-and-self-mutilation-are-closely-related-impulses-there-are-also/#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 } } ] } ```