--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Atlas said, 'Must my future be so heavy?'…" description: "\"“Atlas said, 'Must my future be so heavy?' Hera said, 'That is your present, Atlas. Your future hardens every day, but it is not fixed.' 'How can I esc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/jeanette-winterson-166_destiny_atlas-said-must-my-future-be-so-heavy-he_3198937.png" --- # Atlas said, 'Must my future be so heavy?' Hera said, 'That… ![“Atlas said, 'Must my future be so heavy?' Hera said, 'That is your present, Atlas. Your future hardens every day, but it is not fixed.' 'How can I escape my fate?' 'You must choose your destiny.” quote by Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/jeanette-winterson-166_destiny_atlas-said-must-my-future-be-so-heavy-he_3198937.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/jeanette-winterson-166_destiny_atlas-said-must-my-future-be-so-heavy-he_3198937.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/jeanette-winterson-166_destiny_atlas-said-must-my-future-be-so-heavy-he_3198937.png) > ““Atlas said, 'Must my future be so heavy?' Hera said, 'That is your present, Atlas. Your future hardens every day, but it is not fixed.' 'How can I escape my fate?' 'You must choose your destiny.”” [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The dialogue reflects that present circumstances shape future possibilities, but we can actively choose our path despite seeming destiny. **In simple terms:** Your present influences future, yet you can choose your destiny. Key Takeaway Recognize agency over fate. Themes destiny choice agency future present Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career decisions - personal growth - overcoming obstacles - life planning Key Concepts determinism free will self‑determination Questions to Reflect On - How do you see your present shaping your future? - What choices can you make now to alter your path? A Different Perspective Future is not predetermined; external forces limit choices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Mythology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mythology/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“And thus it was to everyone's surprise when Hera said that she would undertake to provide a whole amphora full of her husband's seed-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-chong/and-thus-it-was-to-everyone-s-surprise-when-hera-said-that-she-would/) [Nicholas Chong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-chong/) > [“Hera said that Hephaestus was the one who made the lovely chariots for Zeus, Poseidon & Hades. Also the one for Helios, the Sun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-chong/hera-said-that-hephaestus-was-the-one-who-made-the-lovely-chariots/) [Nicholas Chong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-chong/) > [Leo frowned at the giant's spire. "Can't we blow it up or something?" "Without me, you do not have the power," Hera said. "You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/leo-frowned-at-the-giant-s-spire-can-t-we-blow-it-up-or-something/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“We pick and choose who to love. We pick and choose who to hate. We pick and choose our friends and ignore those that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-robinson/we-pick-and-choose-who-to-love-we-pick-and-choose-who-to-hate-we-pick/) Willis Robinson > [I can't say that I never will or would go back to the WWE. I honestly never intended on leaving until I retired. However…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickie-james/i-can-t-say-that-i-never-will-or-would-go-back-to-the-wwe-i-honestly/) [Mickie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickie-james/) > [I need not wait for I have the power to choose my own destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/i-need-not-wait-for-i-have-the-power-to-choose-my-own-destiny/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [“Was a struggle to choose one's own destiny less worthwhile than the necessity to stop a great evil?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/was-a-struggle-to-choose-one-s-own-destiny-less-worthwhile-than-the/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [“It is a great honour to be human. Humans have the capacity to freely choose their destiny and, one day, they will all choose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-goddard/it-is-a-great-honour-to-be-human-humans-have-the-capacity-to-freely/) [Donna Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-goddard/) > [“When I had nothing more to lose, I was given everything. When I ceased to be who I am, I found myself. When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-i-had-nothing-more-to-lose-i-was-given-everything-when-i-ceased/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I believe that we have free will. I believe we get the chance to make choices in our lives. Not everything is set in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/i-believe-that-we-have-free-will-i-believe-we-get-the-chance-to-make/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [“Listen, Legs, I'm going to die anyway. I'm human. And I don't know about you, but I don't believe in visions of the future.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-de-la-cruz/listen-legs-i-m-going-to-die-anyway-i-m-human-and-i-don-t-know-about/) [Melissa de la Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-de-la-cruz/) > [“You can't choose someone else's destiny for them, Kelley. And you shouldn't let anyone choose yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-livingston/you-can-t-choose-someone-else-s-destiny-for-them-kelley-and-you/) [Lesley Livingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-livingston/) > [“What we call happiness is sometimes the accordance between our life and circumstances,our biography and history ,our personal aspirations and historical currents .If i…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alija-izetbegovic/what-we-call-happiness-is-sometimes-the-accordance-between-our-life/) [Alija Izetbegović](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alija-izetbegovic/) > [“It's said that we can all choose our own destiny. But sometimes, for a special few, destiny has no choice but to choose for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-m-robinson-jr/it-s-said-that-we-can-all-choose-our-own-destiny-but-sometimes-for-a/) Steve M. Robinson Jr > [“We are built to desire free will and to choose our own destiny. It's not about being right or wrong; it's about the celebration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deiamor-verus/we-are-built-to-desire-free-will-and-to-choose-our-own-destiny-it-s/) DeiAmor Verus ## More by Jeanette Winterson > [“After nine nights must come ten and every desperate meeting only leaves you desperate for another. There is never enough to eat, never enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/after-nine-nights-must-come-ten-and-every-desperate-meeting-only/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time. If it were not so, how could we take it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-never-give-away-your-heart-you-lend-it-from-time-to-time-if-it/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I have found that I am not a space where people want to live, at least not without decorating first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-have-found-that-i-am-not-a-space-where-people-want-to-live-at-least/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“Yes. Just pass me my leg will you? It's on top of the wardrobe where he threw it, and I think my right arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/yes-just-pass-me-my-leg-will-you-it-s-on-top-of-the-wardrobe-where-he/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Every second the Universe divides into possibilities and most of those possibilities never happen. It is not a uni-verse -- there is more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/every-second-the-universe-divides-into-possibilities-and-most-of/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [You are a pool of clear water where the light plays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-are-a-pool-of-clear-water-where-the-light-plays/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“It's the cliches that cause the trouble. A precise emotion seeks a precise expression. If what I feel is not precise than how should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-s-the-cliches-that-cause-the-trouble-a-precise-emotion-seeks-a/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [What would it have meant to be happy? What would it have meant if things had been bright, clear, good between us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/what-would-it-have-meant-to-be-happy-what-would-it-have-meant-if/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“Mrs Ratlow was a widow, and she was head of English, but she still did all the cooking and cleaning for her two sons,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/mrs-ratlow-was-a-widow-and-she-was-head-of-english-but-she-still-did/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“I shall have nowt to talk to now the baby is boiled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-shall-have-nowt-to-talk-to-now-the-baby-is-boiled/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“What art does is to coax us away from the mechanical and towards the miraculous. The so-called uselessness of art is a clue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/what-art-does-is-to-coax-us-away-from-the-mechanical-and-towards-the/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Happy Valentines Day to those who have found love, in whatever shape or form, and to those who are still hunting, don’t give up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/happy-valentines-day-to-those-who-have-found-love-in-whatever-shape/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“It took me a long time to realise that there are two kinds of writing: the one you write and the one that writes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-took-me-a-long-time-to-realise-that-there-are-two-kinds-of-writing/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [A curse on this game. How can you stick at a game when the rules keep on changing? I shall call myself Alice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/a-curse-on-this-game-how-can-you-stick-at-a-game-when-the-rules-keep/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“He turned away and I turned to him in vivid heat to look on the sun-dried world. The groves and towers were gone. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/he-turned-away-and-i-turned-to-him-in-vivid-heat-to-look-on-the-sun/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) [Explore all 1,016 Jeanette Winterson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## 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": "“Atlas said, 'Must my future be so heavy?' Hera said, 'That is your present, Atlas. Your future hardens every day, but it is not fixed.' 'How can I escape my fate?' 'You must choose your destiny.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeanette Winterson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/atlas-said-must-my-future-be-so-heavy-hera-said-that-is-your-present/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Destiny" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/atlas-said-must-my-future-be-so-heavy-hera-said-that-is-your-present/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/jeanette-winterson-166_destiny_atlas-said-must-my-future-be-so-heavy-he_3198937.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/jeanette-winterson-166_destiny_atlas-said-must-my-future-be-so-heavy-he_3198937.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/jeanette-winterson-166_destiny_atlas-said-must-my-future-be-so-heavy-he_3198937.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Atlas said, 'Must my future be so heavy?' Hera said, 'That is your present, Atlas. Your future hardens every…” — Jeanette Winterson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jeanette Winterson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Atlas said, 'Must my future be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/atlas-said-must-my-future-be-so-heavy-hera-said-that-is-your-present/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/atlas-said-must-my-future-be-so-heavy-hera-said-that-is-your-present/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```