Inkheart Power Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

"They're afraid of you, Mo!" whispered Meggie. She could see the trepidation even on Basta's face, although he was doing his best to hide it by assuming a particularly bored expression. (18.28)

Unlike Capricorn, Mo doesn't seem to lust after power or enjoy it when people are afraid of him. Meggie notices that Capricorn's men (even Basta) fear Mo after this first demonstration of his power to read things out of books. And why shouldn't they be afraid? It's the kind of skill that makes you powerful, and they don't know Mo as well as Meggie does, so they have no idea what he might do with that kind of power.

Quote #5

"'Power is all that counts,' he taught his son. 'Rules are made by the strongest, so be sure that you're the one who makes them.'" (34.44)

Fenoglio's account of Capricorn's upbringing is pretty disturbing. Apparently Capricorn's dad, a lowly blacksmith, was obsessed with the idea of power, and so he drilled it into his son. In theory, it shouldn't just be the powerful folks making all the rules, and that's why we live in a democracy… but they must not've reached that stage of political thought in Inkheart. Whoops.

Quote #6

But a day had always come when the web of fear, so expertly spun by Capricorn, tore and the attention of the police was drawn to his men and what they were up to. (37.3)

Capricorn's bigger than a small-time crook, but not quite as powerful as a criminal organization that's managed to penetrate all levels of law enforcement and government. So while he can intimidate a handful of regional police officers to keep quiet about his operations, he probably couldn't evade notice at the national level. This is probably a good thing.