--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was irritated by the way he conflated…" description: "\"“I was irritated by the way he conflated his own shifting needs with an impersonal destiny. I want it, therefore...it's in the stars!”\" — Ian McEwan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0be/ian-mcewan-494_destiny_i-was-irritated-by-the-way-he-conflated_847487.png" --- # I was irritated by the way he conflated his own shifting… ![“I was irritated by the way he conflated his own shifting needs with an impersonal destiny. I want it, therefore...it's in the stars!” quote by Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0be/ian-mcewan-494_destiny_i-was-irritated-by-the-way-he-conflated_847487.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0be/ian-mcewan-494_destiny_i-was-irritated-by-the-way-he-conflated_847487.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0be/ian-mcewan-494_destiny_i-was-irritated-by-the-way-he-conflated_847487.png) > ““I was irritated by the way he conflated his own shifting needs with an impersonal destiny. I want it, therefore...it's in the stars!”” [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He criticizes the tendency to justify personal desires as destiny, highlighting self‑deception. **In simple terms:** People often claim fate to excuse wishes. Key Takeaway Question motives, not destiny. Themes self‑deception destiny personal responsibility Mood reflective critical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - relationships - career decisions - creative projects Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - Do you ever blame fate for your choices? - How does this affect accountability? A Different Perspective Destiny is not a free pass for selfish aims. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Irritated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irritated/) ## Related quotes > [As a young girl, I used to dream of giving an interview. You dream of stardom as a kid. People think they don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sania-mirza/as-a-young-girl-i-used-to-dream-of-giving-an-interview-you-dream-of/) [Sania Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sania-mirza/) > [If there is anything I've learned about kids today - and I'm not saying this is good or bad - it's that they all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-schneider/if-there-is-anything-i-ve-learned-about-kids-today-and-i-m-not-saying/) [Dan Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-schneider/) > [“i want stars, strength, and balance in my soul it's been a while since they were last together in me”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noor-unnahar/i-want-stars-strength-and-balance-in-my-soul-it-s-been-a-while-since/) [Noor Unnahar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noor-unnahar/) > [People shouldn't get into show business because they want to become stars or become rich; they should get into it because they can't help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/people-shouldn-t-get-into-show-business-because-they-want-to-become/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) > [Everywhere I go I meet girls and boys who want to be astronauts and explore space, or they love the ocean and want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-ride/everywhere-i-go-i-meet-girls-and-boys-who-want-to-be-astronauts-and/) [Sally Ride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-ride/) > [People always want the stars of movies to fall in love with one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-weitz/people-always-want-the-stars-of-movies-to-fall-in-love-with-one/) [Chris Weitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-weitz/) > [“I still want the stars for you even if you won't name them after me”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharita-a-sims/i-still-want-the-stars-for-you-even-if-you-won-t-name-them-after-me/) [Sharita a Sims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharita-a-sims/) > [Now, I guess, people want stars. People are trying to invent stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-robertson/now-i-guess-people-want-stars-people-are-trying-to-invent-stars/) [Oscar Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-robertson/) > [I believe that you control your destiny, that you can be what you want to be. You can also stop and say, 'No, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-believe-that-you-control-your-destiny-that-you-can-be-what-you-want/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Trust yourself and strategy to reach destiny you want.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minesh-shakya/trust-yourself-and-strategy-to-reach-destiny-you-want/) [Minesh Shakya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minesh-shakya/) > [I really think you can manifest your dreams. You can manifest your destiny. If you want something hard enough and you're willing to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-magnussen/i-really-think-you-can-manifest-your-dreams-you-can-manifest-your/) [Billy Magnussen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-magnussen/) > [We must not wait for things to come, believing that they are decided by irrescindable destiny. If we want it, we must do something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/we-must-not-wait-for-things-to-come-believing-that-they-are-decided/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [Nothing that I need is difficult for me because it alway been part of my destiny to get it. But only what I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simphiwe-scientist-dumi/nothing-that-i-need-is-difficult-for-me-because-it-alway-been-part-of/) [Simphiwe Scientist Dumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simphiwe-scientist-dumi/) > [You often start with a job you don't want on the way to fulfilling the destiny you do want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-often-start-with-a-job-you-don-t-want-on-the-way-to-fulfilling/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think music is my destiny. I want to commit myself for what God called me to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-w-smith/i-think-music-is-my-destiny-i-want-to-commit-myself-for-what-god/) [Michael W. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-w-smith/) ## More by Ian McEwan > [“As you will see, we do not believe that artists have an obligation to strike up attitudes to the war. Indeed, they are wise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/as-you-will-see-we-do-not-believe-that-artists-have-an-obligation-to/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [You could say that all novels are spy novels and all novelists are spy masters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/you-could-say-that-all-novels-are-spy-novels-and-all-novelists-are/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I've never had a moment's doubt. I love you. I believe in you completely. You are my dearest one. My reason for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-ve-never-had-a-moment-s-doubt-i-love-you-i-believe-in-you/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“It is shaming sometimes, how the body will not, or cannot, lie about emotions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/it-is-shaming-sometimes-how-the-body-will-not-or-cannot-lie-about/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“While my friends struggled and calculated, I reached a solution by a set of floating steps that were partly visual, partly just a feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/while-my-friends-struggled-and-calculated-i-reached-a-solution-by-a/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Once, on a walk by a river- Eskdale in low reddish sunlight, with a dusting of snow- his daughter quoted to him an opening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/once-on-a-walk-by-a-river-eskdale-in-low-reddish-sunlight-with-a/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Perhaps it's one of those cases of a microcosm giving you the whole world. Like a spode dinner plate. Or a single cell. Or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/perhaps-it-s-one-of-those-cases-of-a-microcosm-giving-you-the-whole/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [Who you get, and how it works out- there's so much luck involved, as well as the million branching consequences of your conscious choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/who-you-get-and-how-it-works-out-there-s-so-much-luck-involved-as/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“On Chesil Beach he could have called out to Florence, he could have gone after her. He did not know, or would not have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/on-chesil-beach-he-could-have-called-out-to-florence-he-could-have/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [It was always the view of my parents...that hot weather encouraged loose morals among young people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/it-was-always-the-view-of-my-parents-that-hot-weather-encouraged/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I apologize for being obvious, but every time I watch the curtain come down on even a halfway decent production of a Shakespeare play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-apologize-for-being-obvious-but-every-time-i-watch-the-curtain-come/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I would rather be physically disabled obviously than mentally. I would rather be paraplegic than nuts. And it is a terrifying prospect and actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-would-rather-be-physically-disabled-obviously-than-mentally-i-would/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Words, as I'm beginning to appreciate, can make things true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/words-as-i-m-beginning-to-appreciate-can-make-things-true/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I couldn't think about novels at all. It seemed the only writing that was appropriate to that horrendous event was journalism, reportage. And, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-couldn-t-think-about-novels-at-all-it-seemed-the-only-writing-that/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I did not kill my father, but I sometimes felt I had helped him on his way. And but for the fact that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-did-not-kill-my-father-but-i-sometimes-felt-i-had-helped-him-on-his/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) [Explore all 496 Ian McEwan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) ## More Destiny quotes > [... War on the destiny of man! Doom on the sun! Before death takes you, O take back this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/war-on-the-destiny-of-man-doom-on-the-sun-before-death-takes-you-o/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anatomy is destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/anatomy-is-destiny/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“To be a Sufi is to detach from fixed ideas and from preconceptions; and not to try to avoid what is your lot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/to-be-a-sufi-is-to-detach-from-fixed-ideas-and-from-preconceptions/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [ Man blindly works the will of fate. \[Ger., Blindlings that er blos den Willen des Geschickes.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-martin-wieland/man-blindly-works-the-will-of-fate-ger-blindlings-that-er-blos-den/) [Christoph Martin Wieland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-martin-wieland/) > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“It's morning now, and I miss the soft rasp of her voice already. Ugh. I'm in trouble, aren't I?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-shand/it-s-morning-now-and-i-miss-the-soft-rasp-of-her-voice-already-ugh-i/) [Pat Shand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-shand/) > [You can't choose what stays and what stays away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-welch/you-can-t-choose-what-stays-and-what-stays-away/) [Florence Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-welch/) > [“Failing to meet your true destiny is a tragic act of free will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthon-st-maarten/failing-to-meet-your-true-destiny-is-a-tragic-act-of-free-will/) [Anthon St. Maarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthon-st-maarten/) > [Somehow destiny comes into play. These children end up with you and you end up with them. It's something quite magical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-kidman/somehow-destiny-comes-into-play-these-children-end-up-with-you-and/) [Nicole Kidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-kidman/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Destiny is the ordained intention God has sacredly prepared with your name on it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-s-lynch/destiny-is-the-ordained-intention-god-has-sacredly-prepared-with-your/) [John S. Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-s-lynch/) > [“There is no interaction without God with interaction with men”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/there-is-no-interaction-without-god-with-interaction-with-men/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“Fate and future both are servant to the determined, for they are nothing but creation of human determination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/fate-and-future-both-are-servant-to-the-determined-for-they-are/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) [Browse all 7,925 Destiny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I was irritated by the way he conflated his own shifting needs with an impersonal destiny. 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