--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The unforeseen, that strange, haughty…" description: "\"“The unforeseen, that strange, haughty power which plays with man, had seized Gauvain and held him fast.”\" — Victor Hugo" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/533/victor-hugo-32_quote_the-unforeseen-that-strange-haughty-powe_1445212.jpg" --- # The unforeseen, that strange, haughty power which plays… ![“The unforeseen, that strange, haughty power which plays with man, had seized Gauvain and held him fast.” quote by Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/533/victor-hugo-32_quote_the-unforeseen-that-strange-haughty-powe_1445212.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/533/victor-hugo-32_quote_the-unforeseen-that-strange-haughty-powe_1445212.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/533/victor-hugo-32_quote_the-unforeseen-that-strange-haughty-powe_1445212.jpg) > ““The unforeseen, that strange, haughty power which plays with man, had seized Gauvain and held him fast.”” [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An unexpected, arrogant force takes control of a man, illustrating fate’s capricious grip. **In simple terms:** A strange power suddenly dominates a person. Key Takeaway Recognize when external forces dominate your choices. Themes fate control power humanity Mood anxious reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal crisis - career setbacks - relationship dynamics - unexpected events Key Concepts existentialism free will Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond when you feel powerless? - What can you control in such moments? A Different Perspective Even unseen forces can be resisted with awareness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gauvain Held](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gauvain-held-5182902/) [Man Seized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-seized-2328428/) [Seized Gauvain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seized-gauvain-5182900/) [Unforeseen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unforeseen/) [Unforeseen Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unforeseen-strange-5182901/) ## Related quotes > [Language was not given to man: he seized it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-aragon/language-was-not-given-to-man-he-seized-it/) [Louis Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-aragon/) > [Nothing is more imminent than the impossible . . . what we must always foresee is the unforeseen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/nothing-is-more-imminent-than-the-impossible-what-we-must-always/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“He had not lived long enough to have discovered that nothing is more close at hand than the impossible, and what must be looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-had-not-lived-long-enough-to-have-discovered-that-nothing-is-more/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [He had not yet lived long enough to have discovered that nothing is more close at hand then the impossible, and that what must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-had-not-yet-lived-long-enough-to-have-discovered-that-nothing-is/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Concerning all acts of initiative there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/concerning-all-acts-of-initiative-there-is-one-elementary-truth-the/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Always try to associate yourself closely with and learn as much as you can from those who know more than you, who do better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/always-try-to-associate-yourself-closely-with-and-learn-as-much-as/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [The arrival of the unforeseen reveals the depths of one's heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-arrival-of-the-unforeseen-reveals-the-depths-of-one-s-heart/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For an introvert his environment is himself and can never be subject to startling or unforeseen change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/for-an-introvert-his-environment-is-himself-and-can-never-be-subject/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [Failure is not a destination; it’s an invitation to unforeseen VICTORIES.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-brown/failure-is-not-a-destination-it-s-an-invitation-to-unforeseen/) [Les Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-brown/) > [Play enables us to rearrange our capacities and our very identity so that they can be used in unforeseen ways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-nachmanovitch/play-enables-us-to-rearrange-our-capacities-and-our-very-identity-so/) [Stephen Nachmanovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-nachmanovitch/) > [The moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves, too. 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It seems to be an art of recognizing the role of the unforeseen, of keeping your balance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/how-do-you-calculate-upon-the-unforeseen-it-seems-to-be-an-art-of/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [Italians are great improvisers. If something unforeseen happens, they throw up their hands, and they adjust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-von-sydow/italians-are-great-improvisers-if-something-unforeseen-happens-they/) [Max von Sydow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-von-sydow/) ## More by Victor Hugo > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“There is still a certain grace in a dead festival. It has been happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/there-is-still-a-certain-grace-in-a-dead-festival-it-has-been-happy/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“First I loved women, then animals, and now I love stones. They're just as amusing as women and animals and they're much less trecherous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/first-i-loved-women-then-animals-and-now-i-love-stones-they-re-just/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Nature is pitiless; she never withdraws her flowers, her music, her fragrance, and her sunlight from before human cruelty or suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/nature-is-pitiless-she-never-withdraws-her-flowers-her-music-her/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Have courage for the great sorrows of life, and patience for the small ones. And when you have finished your daily task, go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/have-courage-for-the-great-sorrows-of-life-and-patience-for-the-small/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [The peasants of the Asturias believe that in every litter of wolves there is one pup that is killed by the mother for fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-peasants-of-the-asturias-believe-that-in-every-litter-of-wolves/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Great blunders are often made, like large ropes, of a multitude of fibres.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/great-blunders-are-often-made-like-large-ropes-of-a-multitude-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“For love is like a tree; it grows of itself; it send its roots deep into our being, and often continues to grow green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/for-love-is-like-a-tree-it-grows-of-itself-it-send-its-roots-deep/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Blacheville smiles with the self-satisfied smugness of a man whose vanity is tickled”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/blacheville-smiles-with-the-self-satisfied-smugness-of-a-man-whose/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Loving in ignorance, she loved with all the more passion. She did not know whether it was good or evil, beneficent or dangerous, necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/loving-in-ignorance-she-loved-with-all-the-more-passion-she-did-not/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/laughter-is-the-sun-that-drives-winter-from-the-human-face/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Our joys have shadows. The perfect smile belongs to God alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/our-joys-have-shadows-the-perfect-smile-belongs-to-god-alone/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“When those we love are in question, our prudence invents every sort of madness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/when-those-we-love-are-in-question-our-prudence-invents-every-sort-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Love is a fault; so be it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/love-is-a-fault-so-be-it/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) [Explore all 2,181 Victor Hugo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## More Unforeseen quotes > [Italians are great improvisers. 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It seems to be an art of recognizing the role of the unforeseen, of keeping your balance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/how-do-you-calculate-upon-the-unforeseen-it-seems-to-be-an-art-of/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [But too often the goal of the planners is a universal gray state of health corresponding to absence of disease rather than to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-dubos/but-too-often-the-goal-of-the-planners-is-a-universal-gray-state-of/) [Rene Dubos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-dubos/) > [He had not yet lived long enough to have discovered that nothing is more close at hand then the impossible, and that what must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-had-not-yet-lived-long-enough-to-have-discovered-that-nothing-is/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Astronomy may be revolutionized more than any other field of science by observations from above the atmosphere. Study of the planets, the Sun, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-spitzer/astronomy-may-be-revolutionized-more-than-any-other-field-of-science/) [Lyman Spitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-spitzer/) > [The moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves, too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never have otherwise occurred...unforeseen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-moment-one-definitely-commits-oneself-then-providence-moves-too/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Play enables us to rearrange our capacities and our very identity so that they can be used in unforeseen ways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-nachmanovitch/play-enables-us-to-rearrange-our-capacities-and-our-very-identity-so/) [Stephen Nachmanovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-nachmanovitch/) > [Failure is not a destination; it’s an invitation to unforeseen VICTORIES.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-brown/failure-is-not-a-destination-it-s-an-invitation-to-unforeseen/) [Les Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-brown/) > [For an introvert his environment is himself and can never be subject to startling or unforeseen change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/for-an-introvert-his-environment-is-himself-and-can-never-be-subject/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [The arrival of the unforeseen reveals the depths of one's heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-arrival-of-the-unforeseen-reveals-the-depths-of-one-s-heart/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Always try to associate yourself closely with and learn as much as you can from those who know more than you, who do better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/always-try-to-associate-yourself-closely-with-and-learn-as-much-as/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [Concerning all acts of initiative there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/concerning-all-acts-of-initiative-there-is-one-elementary-truth-the/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“He had not lived long enough to have discovered that nothing is more close at hand than the impossible, and what must be looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-had-not-lived-long-enough-to-have-discovered-that-nothing-is-more/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Nothing ever happens in Mexico until it happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/porfirio-diaz/nothing-ever-happens-in-mexico-until-it-happens/) [Porfirio Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/porfirio-diaz/) > [We can sometimes find a person again, but we cannot abolish time. 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