Learn English – What does “I want him to know I want him to know” mean

grammaticalitymeaning-in-context

Lately, I watched Kill Bill (Vol. 1), with quite an attention. At the last (when Beatrix speaks to Sophie), I got confused by a few dialogues. She said,

"I want him to know what I know. I want him to know I want him to know"

The first sentence isn't a problem. But, the second sentence looks as if she's repeating "I want him to know". What does the phrase really mean? Is it simply repetition, or is she meaning something else? And, is it the right way to phrase it?

Best Answer

I don't remember that line (and probably most parts of the movie :-), but it still sounds cool anyway.

"I want him to know what I know. I want him to know I want him to know."

Basically, she is saying that she wants him to know [what she knows], and she doesn't want just that, she wants him to know that [she wants him to know], too.
(I use brackets as reading aid, to make it easier to group words together when reading.)

Let's recap:

"I want him to know what I know." = [What I know] is what I want him to know.
"I want him to know I want him to know" = [That I want him to know (whatever I want him to know)] is what I want him to know. The original might be easier to read if we add a that to make the clause more obvious, like this: "I want him to know [(that) I want him to know]." Grammatically, this that can be (and often is) omitted.

So, in short, besides she wants him to know what she knows, she also wants him to know that she wants him to know that, purposely, intentionally, and explicitly.

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