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Literary notes about Providential (AI summary)

Writers frequently employ "providential" to describe events imbued with unexpected fortune or a sense of divine orchestration. The term can indicate a moment of serendipity—a lucky break or a timely intervention that alters the course of events, as seen when an unexpected stoppage saves an imminent disaster [1] or when a seemingly trivial encounter is elevated to the status of a blessed opportunity [2]. At other times, it carries the weight of historical or biblical destiny, suggesting that every chance occurrence is part of a grand, predetermined design [3]. This duality of meaning—both the gentle grace of a fortunate accident and the profound inevitability of destiny—is a recurring theme in literature, rendering the term "providential" a powerful literary device to underscore the mysterious interweaving of human fate and divine influence [4].
  1. And here there occurred what seemed to the allies a providential stoppage.
    — from The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare by G. K. Chesterton
  2. "It seems Providential," she told Anne in confidence.
    — from Anne's House of Dreams by L. M. Montgomery
  3. To be accepted by you as your husband and the earthly guardian of your welfare, I should regard as the highest of providential gifts.
    — from Middlemarch by George Eliot
  4. He seemed confused, and stammered: “Listen a moment, it is so astonishing—so astonishing and providential!
    — from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant

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