--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The knowledge that I could hurt him if I…" description: "\"“The knowledge that I could hurt him if I needed to-if I wanted to-gave me a heady feeling of power. It probably wasn't healthy. Still, if he did somet..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/kiersten-white-398_feeling-power_the-knowledge-that-i-could-hurt-him-if-i_1663266.png" --- # The knowledge that I could hurt him if I needed to-if I… ![“The knowledge that I could hurt him if I needed to-if I wanted to-gave me a heady feeling of power. It probably wasn't healthy. Still, if he did something stupid and forced me to drain him, well, I wouldn't cry about it.” quote by Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/kiersten-white-398_feeling-power_the-knowledge-that-i-could-hurt-him-if-i_1663266.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/kiersten-white-398_feeling-power_the-knowledge-that-i-could-hurt-him-if-i_1663266.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/kiersten-white-398_feeling-power_the-knowledge-that-i-could-hurt-him-if-i_1663266.png) > ““The knowledge that I could hurt him if I needed to-if I wanted to-gave me a heady feeling of power. It probably wasn't healthy. Still, if he did something stupid and forced me to drain him, well, I wouldn't cry about it.”” [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker feels a dangerous thrill from having power over someone, recognizing it’s unhealthy but justifiable if the other harms them. **In simple terms:** Power feels exhilarating but can be corrupting. Key Takeaway Use power responsibly, not for revenge. Themes power ethics revenge Mood conflicted introspective Type philosophical narrative When to use this quote - conflict resolution - personal boundaries - self‑reflection Key Concepts control morality psychology Questions to Reflect On - When have you felt power over someone? - How do you balance justice and compassion? A Different Perspective Power can corrupt intentions and relationships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Drain Wouldn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drain-wouldn-782337/) [Feeling Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-power-718522/) [Heady Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heady-feeling-782336/) [Hurt Needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurt-needed-782338/) [Knowledge Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge-hurt-782335/) ## Related quotes > [“Knowledge can hurt because you can't turn away from things anymore. You can't pretend you're blind to what's happening," he said. "It's a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-kacvinsky/knowledge-can-hurt-because-you-can-t-turn-away-from-things-anymore/) [Katie Kacvinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-kacvinsky/) > [Sometimes hurt is needed to make us grow. Failure is needed to make us know. Loss is needed to make us gain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-hurt-is-needed-to-make-us-grow-failure-is-needed-to-make-us/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“As someone whose days were defined by the ten thousand ways a human can hurt, she needed, now and then, to remember that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/as-someone-whose-days-were-defined-by-the-ten-thousand-ways-a-human/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [Sometimes, HURT is needed to make us grow. FAILURE needed to make us know. Loss is needed to make us gain. Because some lessons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-hurt-is-needed-to-make-us-grow-failure-needed-to-make-us/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The career of politics grants a feeling of power. The knowledge of influencing men, of participating in power over them, and above all, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-weber/the-career-of-politics-grants-a-feeling-of-power-the-knowledge-of/) [Max Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-weber/) > [I love the training, learning the stunts, doing them. I love feeling that power - doing things you could never actually do in life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milla-jovovich/i-love-the-training-learning-the-stunts-doing-them-i-love-feeling/) [Milla Jovovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milla-jovovich/) > [There is a wonderful feeling of power when you're a director, but I don't think I need that, and I'm OK without it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/there-is-a-wonderful-feeling-of-power-when-you-re-a-director-but-i/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [The power of love is a curious thing, make one man weep, make another man sing. Change a hawk to a little white dove,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/the-power-of-love-is-a-curious-thing-make-one-man-weep-make-another/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [“No, this isn’t funny. She’s got to realize what she’s getting herself into. Our society isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s run by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gulla/no-this-isn-t-funny-she-s-got-to-realize-what-she-s-getting-herself/) [Nicole Gulla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gulla/) > [It's sort of a feeling of power onstage. It's really the ability to make people smile, or just to turn them one way or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-plant/it-s-sort-of-a-feeling-of-power-onstage-it-s-really-the-ability-to/) [Robert Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-plant/) > [There's a feeling of power in reserve, a power that drives right through the bone, like the shiver you sense in the shaft of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/there-s-a-feeling-of-power-in-reserve-a-power-that-drives-right/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [There is a world within - a world of thought and feeling and power; of light and beauty, and although invisible, its forces are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-f-haanel/there-is-a-world-within-a-world-of-thought-and-feeling-and-power-of/) [Charles F. Haanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-f-haanel/) > [When you do something that works you have a happiness, but I don't know if it's a feeling of power. Power is a frightening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lynch/when-you-do-something-that-works-you-have-a-happiness-but-i-don-t/) [David Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lynch/) > [Adam lay perfectly still, little groans escaping from his lips. I looked at the bow, looked at my hands, looked at Adam's face and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/adam-lay-perfectly-still-little-groans-escaping-from-his-lips-i/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [It gave her a feeling of her own power, to make something practical and beautiful just by using her own skill and creativity. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-jacobs/it-gave-her-a-feeling-of-her-own-power-to-make-something-practical/) [Kate Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-jacobs/) ## More by Kiersten White > [Be careful. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to the worst Spanish student in the history of the language.” I laughed. “No problemo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/be-careful-i-wouldn-t-want-anything-to-happen-to-the-worst-spanish/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [“I shuffled my weight from foot to foot, trying to relieve some of the soreness and wondering how long it would take Reth to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/i-shuffled-my-weight-from-foot-to-foot-trying-to-relieve-some-of-the/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [“It’s about Fia. Everything always is, even when she is nowhere near, even when she left all of us. We still orbit the brilliant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/it-s-about-fia-everything-always-is-even-when-she-is-nowhere-near/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [Where did you find that one?" "I have no idea. I'm a magnet for crazies, I guess." "They must be able to sense a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/where-did-you-find-that-one-i-have-no-idea-i-m-a-magnet-for-crazies-i/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [...sometimes I get tired. Sometimes I get bored. And sometimes all I want, more than anything else in the world, is to go on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/sometimes-i-get-tired-sometimes-i-get-bored-and-sometimes-all-i-want/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [Fun-run" indeed,what a misnomer. That'd be like saying "calm gremlin" or "pleasant hag." Or 'entertaining history textbook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/fun-run-indeed-what-a-misnomer-that-d-be-like-saying-calm-gremlin-or/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [“You bet I'm trouble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/you-bet-i-m-trouble/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [Yes, I have a driver's license." I leaned back against the wall, sighing. "Man, that must be so cool." "It ranks right up there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/yes-i-have-a-driver-s-license-i-leaned-back-against-the-wall-sighing/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [“Sir, yes, sir!' Tyler jumps up mock-saluting. 'I love when you get bossy, it's kind of adorable”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/sir-yes-sir-tyler-jumps-up-mock-saluting-i-love-when-you-get-bossy-it/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [“Jack, who apparently always had to be moving in some way, had made up for the missing knife by grabbing a half loaf of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/jack-who-apparently-always-had-to-be-moving-in-some-way-had-made-up/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [“Reth reached out and took my fingers in his own, his touch light but comforting. “I’ve found that sacrifice is called that for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/reth-reached-out-and-took-my-fingers-in-his-own-his-touch-light-but/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [“Heaven and hell,your hands are cold." "I never thought I'd prefer the dead silence of the Paths over anything,but it had to be better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/heaven-and-hell-your-hands-are-cold-i-never-thought-i-d-prefer-the/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [“What about our souls?' Mehmed whispered. Before Lada walked out, she paused at the door. 'Souls and thrones are irreconcilable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/what-about-our-souls-mehmed-whispered-before-lada-walked-out-she/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [Give me a mirror.Or holy water. I'll drink it,even!" I gasped as someone threw water on the side of my face. "A little warning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/give-me-a-mirror-or-holy-water-i-ll-drink-it-even-i-gasped-as-someone/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [“Ignorance was bliss. Or at least less painfull”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/ignorance-was-bliss-or-at-least-less-painfull/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) [Explore all 593 Kiersten White quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) ## More Feeling Power quotes > [It gave her a feeling of her own power, to make something practical and beautiful just by using her own skill and creativity. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-jacobs/it-gave-her-a-feeling-of-her-own-power-to-make-something-practical/) [Kate Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-jacobs/) > [Adam lay perfectly still, little groans escaping from his lips. I looked at the bow, looked at my hands, looked at Adam's face and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/adam-lay-perfectly-still-little-groans-escaping-from-his-lips-i/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [When you do something that works you have a happiness, but I don't know if it's a feeling of power. Power is a frightening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lynch/when-you-do-something-that-works-you-have-a-happiness-but-i-don-t/) [David Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lynch/) > [There is a world within - a world of thought and feeling and power; of light and beauty, and although invisible, its forces are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-f-haanel/there-is-a-world-within-a-world-of-thought-and-feeling-and-power-of/) [Charles F. Haanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-f-haanel/) > [There's a feeling of power in reserve, a power that drives right through the bone, like the shiver you sense in the shaft of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/there-s-a-feeling-of-power-in-reserve-a-power-that-drives-right/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [It's sort of a feeling of power onstage. It's really the ability to make people smile, or just to turn them one way or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-plant/it-s-sort-of-a-feeling-of-power-onstage-it-s-really-the-ability-to/) [Robert Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-plant/) > [“No, this isn’t funny. She’s got to realize what she’s getting herself into. Our society isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s run by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gulla/no-this-isn-t-funny-she-s-got-to-realize-what-she-s-getting-herself/) [Nicole Gulla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gulla/) > [The power of love is a curious thing, make one man weep, make another man sing. Change a hawk to a little white dove,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/the-power-of-love-is-a-curious-thing-make-one-man-weep-make-another/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [There is a wonderful feeling of power when you're a director, but I don't think I need that, and I'm OK without it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/there-is-a-wonderful-feeling-of-power-when-you-re-a-director-but-i/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [I love the training, learning the stunts, doing them. I love feeling that power - doing things you could never actually do in life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milla-jovovich/i-love-the-training-learning-the-stunts-doing-them-i-love-feeling/) [Milla Jovovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milla-jovovich/) > [The career of politics grants a feeling of power. The knowledge of influencing men, of participating in power over them, and above all, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-weber/the-career-of-politics-grants-a-feeling-of-power-the-knowledge-of/) [Max Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-weber/) > [Some people get a feeling of power from being unpleasant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/some-people-get-a-feeling-of-power-from-being-unpleasant/) [Alexei Panshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-panshin/) > [What is good? All that enhances the feeling of power, the Will to Power, and power itself in man. What is bad? — All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-is-good-all-that-enhances-the-feeling-of-power-the-will-to-power/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“While women suffer from our relative lack of power in the world and often resent it, certain dimensions of this powerlessness may seem abstract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-lee-bartky/while-women-suffer-from-our-relative-lack-of-power-in-the-world-and/) [Sandra Lee Bartky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-lee-bartky/) > [What is good? All that heightens the feeling of power, the will to power, power itself. What is bad? All that is born of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-is-good-all-that-heightens-the-feeling-of-power-the-will-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) [Browse all 24 Feeling Power quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-power-718522/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The knowledge that I could hurt him if I needed to-if I wanted to-gave me a heady feeling of power. It probably wasn't healthy. 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