--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Knight, of course, felt that anyone's…" description: "\"“Knight, of course, felt that anyone's willing assistance tainted the whole thing. Either you are hidden or you're not, no middle ground. He wished to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/michael-finkel-7714_alone_knight-of-course-felt-that-anyone-s-will_1628379.jpg" --- # Knight, of course, felt that anyone's willing assistance… ![“Knight, of course, felt that anyone's willing assistance tainted the whole thing. Either you are hidden or you're not, no middle ground. He wished to be unconditionally alone, exiled to an island of his own creation, an uncontacted tribe of one.” quote by Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/michael-finkel-7714_alone_knight-of-course-felt-that-anyone-s-will_1628379.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/michael-finkel-7714_alone_knight-of-course-felt-that-anyone-s-will_1628379.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/michael-finkel-7714_alone_knight-of-course-felt-that-anyone-s-will_1628379.jpg) > ““Knight, of course, felt that anyone's willing assistance tainted the whole thing. Either you are hidden or you're not, no middle ground. He wished to be unconditionally alone, exiled to an island of his own creation, an uncontacted tribe of one.”” [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A desire for absolute solitude leads to self‑imposed exile, rejecting any shared experience as contaminating. **In simple terms:** Total isolation feels pure but is impossible. Key Takeaway Balance connection with personal boundaries. Themes solitude isolation identity Mood contemplative lonely Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - creative work - mental health - remote living - spiritual practice Key Concepts psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What does “unconditional alone” mean to you? - Can true independence exist without others? A Different Perspective Complete isolation can cause loneliness and mental decline. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alone/) [Assistance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assistance/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Exile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exile/) [Exiled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exiled/) [Exiled Island](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exiled-island-364376/) [Hidden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hidden/) [Island](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/island/) [Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knight/) [Middle ground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-ground/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one/) [Tainted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tainted/) [Tribe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tribe/) [Unconditionally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unconditionally/) [Unconditionally Exiled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unconditionally-exiled-364374/) [Uncontacted Tribe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncontacted-tribe-364375/) ## Related quotes > [“If you’ve been exiled, why don’t you send me word of yourself? People do send word. Have you stopped loving me? No, for some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bulgakov/if-you-ve-been-exiled-why-don-t-you-send-me-word-of-yourself-people/) [Mikhail Bulgakov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bulgakov/) > [They have exiled me now from their society and I am pleased, because humanity does not exile except the one whose noble spirit rebels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/they-have-exiled-me-now-from-their-society-and-i-am-pleased-because/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Fog rolled in like a form of sorrow. To live exiled from a place you have known intimately is to experience sensory deprivation. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/fog-rolled-in-like-a-form-of-sorrow-to-live-exiled-from-a-place-you/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [“Life’s harrowing echo only to be faded into exiled loneliness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munia-khan/life-s-harrowing-echo-only-to-be-faded-into-exiled-loneliness/) [Munia Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munia-khan/) > [childhood was not a time in a person's life, but a country, a country under siege, from which certain individuals were taken too soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-green/childhood-was-not-a-time-in-a-person-s-life-but-a-country-a-country/) [Kate Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-green/) > [“During this period of his life, Burroughs was seeking a physical utopia, a place where he could live and act as he wanted with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-a-mullins/during-this-period-of-his-life-burroughs-was-seeking-a-physical/) [Greg A. Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-a-mullins/) > [“He is exiled in a school where to often his capacity for constructive growth and self realization is repressed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-polk-lillard/he-is-exiled-in-a-school-where-to-often-his-capacity-for-constructive/) [Paula Polk Lillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-polk-lillard/) > [So that when I came from Panama... my family was exiled in 1973 and they went to Miami.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-blades/so-that-when-i-came-from-panama-my-family-was-exiled-in-1973-and-they/) [Ruben Blades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-blades/) > [“Too many thousands of opened books yawned between them and him. He had exiled himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/too-many-thousands-of-opened-books-yawned-between-them-and-him-he-had/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [Voltaire, as full of life as summer is full of blossoms, giving his ideas upon all subjects at the expense of prince and king,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/voltaire-as-full-of-life-as-summer-is-full-of-blossoms-giving-his/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Simón Bolívar is the only person in history to be exiled from a country named after him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kinky-friedman/sim-n-bol-var-is-the-only-person-in-history-to-be-exiled-from-a/) [Kinky Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kinky-friedman/) > [“What’s worst: to be idle while someone dies, or to be exiled and empty-handed?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/what-s-worst-to-be-idle-while-someone-dies-or-to-be-exiled-and-empty/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [For some reason, I have always been interested in the stories of people who are exiled and who are deprived of rights. My main…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-denis/for-some-reason-i-have-always-been-interested-in-the-stories-of/) [Claire Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-denis/) > [“But the girls are exiled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tijan/but-the-girls-are-exiled/) [Tijan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tijan/) > [“Exiled by death from people we have known, We are reduced again by years, and try To call them back and clothe the barren…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-hall/exiled-by-death-from-people-we-have-known-we-are-reduced-again-by/) [Donald Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-hall/) ## More by Michael Finkel > [I never do formal interviews. I don't use a tape recorder. I take notes but occasionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/i-never-do-formal-interviews-i-don-t-use-a-tape-recorder-i-take-notes/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [“He has seen the bottomless nonsense of our world and has decided, like most of us, to simply try to tolerate it. He appears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/he-has-seen-the-bottomless-nonsense-of-our-world-and-has-decided-like/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [America might be the land of second chances, but it ain't the land of third chances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/america-might-be-the-land-of-second-chances-but-it-ain-t-the-land-of/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [“the true solitary does not seek himself, but loses himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/the-true-solitary-does-not-seek-himself-but-loses-himself/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [“The American essayist William Deresiewicz wrote that “no real excellence, personal or social, artistic, philosophical, scientific, or moral, can arise without solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/the-american-essayist-william-deresiewicz-wrote-that-no-real/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [“If you like solitude, you're never alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/if-you-like-solitude-you-re-never-alone/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [“The first great literary work about solitude, the Tao Te Ching, was written in ancient China, likely in the sixth century B.C., by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/the-first-great-literary-work-about-solitude-the-tao-te-ching-was/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [There have always been hermits: people who want to get away from other humans. Literally, some of the first extant books and poems found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/there-have-always-been-hermits-people-who-want-to-get-away-from-other/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [“The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, by William Shirer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-third-reich-by-william-shirer/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [I think many people have this sense that something about modern society - the screens, the noise, the traffic, the constant busyness - has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/i-think-many-people-have-this-sense-that-something-about-modern/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [I'd lied many times: to bolster my credentials, to elicit sympathy, to make myself appear less ordinary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/i-d-lied-many-times-to-bolster-my-credentials-to-elicit-sympathy-to/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [“He never bothered listening to sports; the bored him, every one of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/he-never-bothered-listening-to-sports-the-bored-him-every-one-of-them/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [Extraordinary things happen in solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/extraordinary-things-happen-in-solitude/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [“Japanese researchers at Chiba University found that a daily fifteen-minute walk in the woods caused significant decreases in cortisol, along with a modest drop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/japanese-researchers-at-chiba-university-found-that-a-daily-fifteen-2/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [My fight-or-flight mechanism... had served me well in Gaza, in Afghanistan, and all the places I'd been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/my-fight-or-flight-mechanism-had-served-me-well-in-gaza-in/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) [Explore all 87 Michael Finkel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) ## More Alone quotes > [I can be taken away from myself quite easily, I kind of start betraying myself and compromising my integrity, to keep someone else happy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-lou-wood/i-can-be-taken-away-from-myself-quite-easily-i-kind-of-start/) [Aimee Lou Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-lou-wood/) > [Perhaps our own opposition to even the level of European integration we have now, let alone any more, is well known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-farage/perhaps-our-own-opposition-to-even-the-level-of-european-integration/) [Nigel Farage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-farage/) > [If your goal is to look different, you'll see results faster with strength training than with cardio alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kaiser/if-your-goal-is-to-look-different-you-ll-see-results-faster-with/) [Anna Kaiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kaiser/) > [With my songs, the question is always, 'Can you pull it off live, alone on just an acoustic guitar?' That's the litmus test. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-colvin/with-my-songs-the-question-is-always-can-you-pull-it-off-live-alone/) [Shawn Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-colvin/) > [I should have liked to get married, but over many decades I have lived essentially alone. I go to sleep when I'm tired, get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/i-should-have-liked-to-get-married-but-over-many-decades-i-have-lived/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [I am not alone in that I've had times of unemployment - unemployment is huge amongst disabled people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-jones/i-am-not-alone-in-that-i-ve-had-times-of-unemployment-unemployment-is/) [Rosie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-jones/) > [I never knew a heart could feel so cold so empty so broken until now , I don't know what to say I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-never-knew-a-heart-could-feel-so-cold-so-empty-so-broken-until-now/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you're disabled or different from what general society deems normal, it's fine. There will always be people who won't accept you, but there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millicent-simmonds/if-you-re-disabled-or-different-from-what-general-society-deems/) [Millicent Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millicent-simmonds/) > [Real love is a permanently self-enlarging experience…A Journey With My Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luckybannu/real-love-is-a-permanently-self-enlarging-experience-a-journey-with/) [Luckybannu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luckybannu/) > [“What I'm trying to say is that I spent the last four months learning to be alone, avoiding the world, hating pretty much anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-cremer/what-i-m-trying-to-say-is-that-i-spent-the-last-four-months-learning/) [Andrea Cremer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-cremer/) > [I'm used to being alone in a quiet, isolated environment - I'm kind of a low-energy, low-vibration, low-stamina person to begin with - so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-cain/i-m-used-to-being-alone-in-a-quiet-isolated-environment-i-m-kind-of-a/) [Ethel Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-cain/) > [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I have developed a nasty habit of losing to the guy who wins the tournament, and that alone makes you think what you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-robertson/i-have-developed-a-nasty-habit-of-losing-to-the-guy-who-wins-the/) [Neil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-robertson/) > [As a child, I was this record collector/listener that would sit in a room and listen to the entire Beatles catalog alone, over and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cornell/as-a-child-i-was-this-record-collector-listener-that-would-sit-in-a/) [Chris Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cornell/) > [How one hates to think of oneself as alone. How one avoids it. It seems to imply rejection or unpopularity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/how-one-hates-to-think-of-oneself-as-alone-how-one-avoids-it-it-seems/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) [Browse all 3,082 Alone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alone/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Knight, of course, felt that anyone's willing assistance tainted the whole thing. Either you are hidden or you're not, no middle ground. He wished to be unconditionally alone, exiled to an island of his own creation, an uncontacted tribe of one.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Finkel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/knight-of-course-felt-that-anyone-s-willing-assistance-tainted-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alone" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/knight-of-course-felt-that-anyone-s-willing-assistance-tainted-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/michael-finkel-7714_alone_knight-of-course-felt-that-anyone-s-will_1628379.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/michael-finkel-7714_alone_knight-of-course-felt-that-anyone-s-will_1628379.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/michael-finkel-7714_alone_knight-of-course-felt-that-anyone-s-will_1628379.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Knight, of course, felt that anyone's willing assistance tainted the whole thing. Either you are hidden or…” — Michael Finkel", "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": "Michael Finkel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Knight, of course, felt that anyone's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/knight-of-course-felt-that-anyone-s-willing-assistance-tainted-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/knight-of-course-felt-that-anyone-s-willing-assistance-tainted-the/#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 } } ] } ```