--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not all coincidence has to be loaded with…" description: "\"Not all coincidence has to be loaded with meaning. Sometimes, things simply recur because that's how it is in life, that's how the mood gets in. It's g..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a0/teju-cole-2851_coincidence_not-all-coincidence-has-to-be-loaded-wit_729259.png" --- # Not all coincidence has to be loaded with meaning… ![“Not all coincidence has to be loaded with meaning. Sometimes, things simply recur because that's how it is in life, that's how the mood gets in. It's good to subtly overdo it too, as Nabokov does, as Sebald does. It's a good way to intensify that region of localized weather that we call a novel.” quote by Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a0/teju-cole-2851_coincidence_not-all-coincidence-has-to-be-loaded-wit_729259.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a0/teju-cole-2851_coincidence_not-all-coincidence-has-to-be-loaded-wit_729259.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a0/teju-cole-2851_coincidence_not-all-coincidence-has-to-be-loaded-wit_729259.png) > “Not all coincidence has to be loaded with meaning. Sometimes, things simply recur because that's how it is in life, that's how the mood gets in. It's good to subtly overdo it too, as Nabokov does, as Sebald does. It's a good way to intensify that region of localized weather that we call a novel.” [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Coincidences may be random, but intentional repetition can intensify a novel’s atmosphere. **In simple terms:** Random repeats can shape a story’s mood. Key Takeaway Use deliberate motifs. Themes literary technique randomness atmosphere Mood analytical creative Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - advertising - music composition Key Concepts structuralism postmodernism Questions to Reflect On - When does repetition become redundant? - How does mood affect narrative impact? 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What love means to me is need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cale/i-never-use-the-word-it-s-loaded-what-love-means-to-me-is-need/) [John Cale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cale/) > [I don't like rats, but there's not much else I don't like. The problem with rats is they have no fear of human beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-attenborough/i-don-t-like-rats-but-there-s-not-much-else-i-don-t-like-the-problem/) [David Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-attenborough/) > [If you want to shoot rare, fast-moving elephants, you should always carry a loaded gun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/if-you-want-to-shoot-rare-fast-moving-elephants-you-should-always/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Of all the passions of mankind, the love of novelty most rules the mind. In search of this, from realm to realm we roam.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-foote/of-all-the-passions-of-mankind-the-love-of-novelty-most-rules-the/) [Shelby Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-foote/) > [If liberals can seize our guns because they are dangerous, we have no chance of holding on to our cars and our homes. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/if-liberals-can-seize-our-guns-because-they-are-dangerous-we-have-no/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [When they were done downloading all the information off each hard drive, they took all the computers, all the literature, and loaded everything into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-austin/when-they-were-done-downloading-all-the-information-off-each-hard/) [Sherman Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-austin/) > [They have seized upon the government by bribery and corruption. They have made speculation and public robbery a science. They have loaded the nation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-kearney/they-have-seized-upon-the-government-by-bribery-and-corruption-they/) [Denis Kearney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-kearney/) > [One would think that a system loaded with such gross and vulgar absurdities as Scripture religion is could never have obtained credit; yet we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/one-would-think-that-a-system-loaded-with-such-gross-and-vulgar/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Muzzle control has to be a religion. You cannot point that weapon at one of your brothers-or yourself. Know where you barrel is at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-couch/muzzle-control-has-to-be-a-religion-you-cannot-point-that-weapon-at/) [Dick Couch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-couch/) ## More by Teju Cole > [One of the difficulties of photography is that it is much better at being explicit than at being reticent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/one-of-the-difficulties-of-photography-is-that-it-is-much-better-at/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [Note-taking is important to me: a week's worth of reading notes (or "thoughts I had in the shower" notes) is cumulatively more interesting than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/note-taking-is-important-to-me-a-week-s-worth-of-reading-notes-or/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [It's an Obama book, certainly. I was delighted, and astonished, to hear recently that he was reading it. It's a book about a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/it-s-an-obama-book-certainly-i-was-delighted-and-astonished-to-hear/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [Because I'm an art historian, I have some experience of writing that comes out of close attention. That's what really art history is. You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/because-i-m-an-art-historian-i-have-some-experience-of-writing-that/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [For purposes of marketing, writers are designated as poets, novelists, or something else. But writing is about matchmaking, an attempt to marry sensations with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/for-purposes-of-marketing-writers-are-designated-as-poets-novelists/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [“Most of the people around me yesterday were middle-aged or old. I am used to it, but it never ceases to surprise me how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/most-of-the-people-around-me-yesterday-were-middle-aged-or-old-i-am/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [“I look at his hands. In those hands is new knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/i-look-at-his-hands-in-those-hands-is-new-knowledge/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [“The mind roams more widely in the dark than it does in light. It is no surprise, then, stepping out of the unlit house…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/the-mind-roams-more-widely-in-the-dark-than-it-does-in-light-it-is-no/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [“Each person must, on some level, take himself as the calibration point for normalcy, must assume that the room of his own mind is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/each-person-must-on-some-level-take-himself-as-the-calibration-point/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [Writing as writing. Writing as rioting. Writing as righting. On the best days, all three.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/writing-as-writing-writing-as-rioting-writing-as-righting-on-the-best/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [“The site was a palimpsest, as was all the city, written, erased, rewritten...Generations rushed through the eye of the needle, and I, one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/the-site-was-a-palimpsest-as-was-all-the-city-written-erased/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [“As I contemplated the silent world before me, I thought of the many romantic ideas attached to blindness. Ideas of unusual sensitivity and genius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/as-i-contemplated-the-silent-world-before-me-i-thought-of-the-many/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [Always say 'no pun intended' to draw attention to the intended pun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/always-say-no-pun-intended-to-draw-attention-to-the-intended-pun/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [In a sense, Open City is a kind of Wunderkammer, one of those little rooms assembled with bric-a-brac by Renaissance scholars. I don't mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/in-a-sense-open-city-is-a-kind-of-wunderkammer-one-of-those-little/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [One of the chief characteristics of a mob is its quickness. It is sudden. It pounces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/one-of-the-chief-characteristics-of-a-mob-is-its-quickness-it-is/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) [Explore all 146 Teju Cole quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) ## More Coincidence quotes > [“Symbols are miracles we have recorded into language.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-kelley-harrell/symbols-are-miracles-we-have-recorded-into-language/) [S. Kelley Harrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-kelley-harrell/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [“Coincidence is the exception, not the rule.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soheir-khashoggi/coincidence-is-the-exception-not-the-rule/) [Soheir Khashoggi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soheir-khashoggi/) > [Is it a coincidence that stories from the private life became more popular just as the grand hope for public redemption through revolution was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-griffin/is-it-a-coincidence-that-stories-from-the-private-life-became-more/) [Susan Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-griffin/) > [It was an odd coincidence that my career took off the same decade as having babies. I often wished it had been different, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-kaczmarek/it-was-an-odd-coincidence-that-my-career-took-off-the-same-decade-as/) [Jane Kaczmarek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-kaczmarek/) > [“Every emotion in the world wishes to be expressed, every task desires to be done. Coincidence is the perfect texture.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-geary/every-emotion-in-the-world-wishes-to-be-expressed-every-task-desires/) [Patricia Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-geary/) > [It's not coincidence that these attacks come at the exact same moment, and all together at the same time as WikiLeaks releases documents exposing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/it-s-not-coincidence-that-these-attacks-come-at-the-exact-same-moment/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [“You wonder if that really constitutes being ‘a coincidence’ but don’t press her on the issue, instead sticking your hand down your pocket to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-kerkhoven/you-wonder-if-that-really-constitutes-being-a-coincidence-but-don-t/) [Rudolf Kerkhoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-kerkhoven/) > [A thrumming of piano-strings beyond the gardens and through the elms. At length the melody steals into my being. I know not when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-thrumming-of-piano-strings-beyond-the-gardens-and-through-the-elms/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“We cannot see how our lives will unfold. What is destiny and What is accident? And how can one ever be certain?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-ostlere/we-cannot-see-how-our-lives-will-unfold-what-is-destiny-and-what-is/) [Cathy Ostlere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-ostlere/) > [When you live your life with an appreciation of coincidences and their meanings, you connect with the underlying field of infinite possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-live-your-life-with-an-appreciation-of-coincidences-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It’s amazing how many coincidences occur when one begins to pray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hybels/it-s-amazing-how-many-coincidences-occur-when-one-begins-to-pray/) [Bill Hybels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hybels/) > [“Premonitions are coincidences waiting to happen,” he said, without looking up. “I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/premonitions-are-coincidences-waiting-to-happen-he-said-without/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [“A friend of mine once said that she didn't believe in coincidence, that it was God working in her life, not a coincidence every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-cameron/a-friend-of-mine-once-said-that-she-didn-t-believe-in-coincidence/) [Barbara Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-cameron/) > [Some people suggested that I should try something else. It was a lot of things, but nothing really stood out for me. Nothing felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-kim/some-people-suggested-that-i-should-try-something-else-it-was-a-lot/) [Claudia Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-kim/) [Browse all 823 Coincidence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coincidence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Not all coincidence has to be loaded with meaning. Sometimes, things simply recur because that's how it is in life, that's how the mood gets in. It's good to subtly overdo it too, as Nabokov does, as Sebald does. 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