--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But in a story I can steal her soul." description: "\"But in a story I can steal her soul.\" — Tim O'Brien" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80b/tim-o-brien-1818_soul_but-in-a-story-i-can-steal-her-soul-3938_393863.png" --- # But in a story I can steal her soul. ![“But in a story I can steal her soul.” quote by Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80b/tim-o-brien-1818_soul_but-in-a-story-i-can-steal-her-soul-3938_393863.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80b/tim-o-brien-1818_soul_but-in-a-story-i-can-steal-her-soul-3938_393863.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80b/tim-o-brien-1818_soul_but-in-a-story-i-can-steal-her-soul-3938_393863.png) > “But in a story I can steal her soul.” [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Storytelling can feel like possessing another’s essence, blurring reality and imagination. **In simple terms:** Stories can seem to take another’s soul. Key Takeaway Recognize the power and limits of narrative. Themes storytelling identity empathy fiction Mood thoughtful introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - reading groups - therapy sessions - cultural analysis Key Concepts literature psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - How does a story change your view of a person? - When does empathy become appropriation? A Different Perspective Narrative control is limited; real agency remains with the subject. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) ## Related quotes > [“You tell yourself to someone and they steal your soul. That's why I don't talk to anybody.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-flock/you-tell-yourself-to-someone-and-they-steal-your-soul-that-s-why-i/) [Elizabeth Flock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-flock/) > [“He doesn't look people in the eye. He says that's how someone can steal your soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/he-doesn-t-look-people-in-the-eye-he-says-that-s-how-someone-can-2/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“The Indians say to draw someone's portrait is to steal their soul, i am taking photographs, does it mean that i am just borrowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a/the-indians-say-to-draw-someone-s-portrait-is-to-steal-their-soul-i/) T.A > [“If the devil can’t steal your soul, he’ll just keep you busy doing meaningless church work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/if-the-devil-can-t-steal-your-soul-he-ll-just-keep-you-busy-doing/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [“some women can steal your heart by their beauty, some can steal your mind by their intelligence and others can steal your soul by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/savi-sharma/some-women-can-steal-your-heart-by-their-beauty-some-can-steal-your/) [Savi Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/savi-sharma/) > [“I’d rather not see their eyes. Eyes can say so much. Theirs say, ‘I want to steal your soul so don’t turn your back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kasie-west/i-d-rather-not-see-their-eyes-eyes-can-say-so-much-theirs-say-i-want/) [Kasie West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kasie-west/) > [“This was about getting inside her body, then her mind, before unlocking the chastity belt that was her heart, to steal the soul inside.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-j-pryor/this-was-about-getting-inside-her-body-then-her-mind-before-unlocking/) [Lindsay J. Pryor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-j-pryor/) > [If you die, Lily ... I’ll steal your soul and take you to the Abyss, where I will keep you in my magical dungeon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/if-you-die-lily-i-ll-steal-your-soul-and-take-you-to-the-abyss-where/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [There are really so many people trying to get control over you on a daily basis and steal your soul in some way, take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-way/there-are-really-so-many-people-trying-to-get-control-over-you-on-a/) [Gerard Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-way/) > [“He doesn’t look people in the eye. He says that’s how someone can steal your soul. 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Shout out to everybody who actually paid for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginuwine/someone-has-to-really-like-you-to-go-out-there-and-physically-get/) [Ginuwine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginuwine/) > [I try to live in a little bit of my own joy and not let people steal it or take it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoda-kotb/i-try-to-live-in-a-little-bit-of-my-own-joy-and-not-let-people-steal/) [Hoda Kotb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hoda-kotb/) > [“Having no applicable skills, in any possible area whatsoever, effectively makes me the master of redundancy. But that info is obsolete, like my insults…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-advise/having-no-applicable-skills-in-any-possible-area-whatsoever/) Will Advise > [Every now and then we could steal somebody else's stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-kooper/every-now-and-then-we-could-steal-somebody-else-s-stuff/) [Al Kooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-kooper/) ## More by Tim O'Brien > [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [It's very hard to articulate the things that are important about writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/it-s-very-hard-to-articulate-the-things-that-are-important-about/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [The thing about a story is that you dream it as you tell it, hoping that others might then dream along with you, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/the-thing-about-a-story-is-that-you-dream-it-as-you-tell-it-hoping/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Fiction, maybe art in general, is a tentative, uncertain enterprise; it's not science, it's an exploration, but you never find much in the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/fiction-maybe-art-in-general-is-a-tentative-uncertain-enterprise-it-s/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“I learned that words make a difference. 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You could put fancy spin on it, you could make it dance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/on-occasions-the-war-was-like-a-ping-pong-ball-you-could-put-fancy/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“They were afraid of dying, but they were even more afraid to show it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/they-were-afraid-of-dying-but-they-were-even-more-afraid-to-show-it/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“Forty-three years old, and the war occurred half a lifetime ago, and yet the remembering makes it now. And sometimes remembering will lead to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/forty-three-years-old-and-the-war-occurred-half-a-lifetime-ago-and/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“He thought about the difference between good times and bad times, and how funny it was that he could not state the difference, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/he-thought-about-the-difference-between-good-times-and-bad-times-and/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [A lie, sometimes, can be truer than the truth, which is why fiction gets written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/a-lie-sometimes-can-be-truer-than-the-truth-which-is-why-fiction-gets/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [My life is storytelling. I believe in stories, in their incredible power to keep people alive, to keep the living alive, and the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/my-life-is-storytelling-i-believe-in-stories-in-their-incredible/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [With a hangover and with fear, it is difficult to put a helmet on your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/with-a-hangover-and-with-fear-it-is-difficult-to-put-a-helmet-on-your/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“Peace never bragged. If you didn't look for it, it wasn't there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/peace-never-bragged-if-you-didn-t-look-for-it-it-wasn-t-there/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) [Explore all 201 Tim O'Brien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) ## More Soul quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [I don't drink much anymore, but when I traveled with Frank Sinatra, God rest his soul, I used to drink like I could do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/i-don-t-drink-much-anymore-but-when-i-traveled-with-frank-sinatra-god/) [Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/) > [She smiled, if he could see that, and waited for him to ask the real question. But he was silent. He wanted her to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-shinn/she-smiled-if-he-could-see-that-and-waited-for-him-to-ask-the-real/) [Sharon Shinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-shinn/) > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [ “i believe \[images\] are the soul's immune system and transit system.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/i-believe-images-are-the-soul-s-immune-system-and-transit-system/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [And you can't complain about kissing Emma Watson. Isn't that what everyone in the world wants to do? I've known Emma for a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-redmayne/and-you-can-t-complain-about-kissing-emma-watson-isn-t-that-what/) [Eddie Redmayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-redmayne/) > [“You're never alone if you're with your soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-armond-powell/you-re-never-alone-if-you-re-with-your-soul/) [Gerard Armond Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-armond-powell/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [“A question for Christians who accept evolution: When did we gain a "soul"? Did Homo habilis have a soul? Homo ergaster? Did God only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-g-mcafee/a-question-for-christians-who-accept-evolution-when-did-we-gain-a/) [David G. McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-g-mcafee/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Suffering did different things to different people...Some souls became tempered, unshakable in their faith, while others became twisted and mis-shapen, throwing off all connection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-ragen/suffering-did-different-things-to-different-people-some-souls-became/) [Naomi Ragen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-ragen/) > [Because the truth is that gossip is as good as gospel in this town. You can save face but you won't ever save your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/because-the-truth-is-that-gossip-is-as-good-as-gospel-in-this-town/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) [Browse all 21,981 Soul quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But in a story I can steal her soul.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tim O'Brien" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/but-in-a-story-i-can-steal-her-soul/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Soul" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/but-in-a-story-i-can-steal-her-soul/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80b/tim-o-brien-1818_soul_but-in-a-story-i-can-steal-her-soul-3938_393863.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80b/tim-o-brien-1818_soul_but-in-a-story-i-can-steal-her-soul-3938_393863.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80b/tim-o-brien-1818_soul_but-in-a-story-i-can-steal-her-soul-3938_393863.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But in a story I can steal her soul.” — Tim O'Brien", "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": "Tim O'Brien", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "But in a story I can...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/but-in-a-story-i-can-steal-her-soul/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/but-in-a-story-i-can-steal-her-soul/#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 } } ] } ```