Sentence:  In a small way this is illustrated by the nineteenth century novelist who argued for the powerful <WSD>influence</WSD> of literature as a teacher of society and who illustrated this with the way a girl learned to meet her lover , how to behave , how to think about this new experience , how to exercise restraint . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  a power to affect persons or events especially power based on prestige etc