A toy steering wheel with a thin red thread leading to a suspended red leaf on a moss-green background.

Original artwork, not a still

The Joy Luck Club  ·  1989

Amy Tan

I discovered that maybe it was fate all along, that faith was just an illusion that somehow you’re in control.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker tentatively replaces a belief in control with the possibility that fate was directing events all along. Faith is reconsidered as something that created the feeling of control. The word 'maybe' keeps the thought uncertain, giving the realization a questioning rather than settled tone.

Context reviewed

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