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Literary notes about kismet (AI summary)

The term "kismet" appears in literature as a multifaceted emblem of fate and destiny, often invoked to underscore the inexorable pull of circumstance. In James Joyce's Ulysses, for example, the word is used in a variety of tones—from a resigned exclamation to a subtle commentary on life's inevitable outcomes ([1], [2], [3], [4]). Rudyard Kipling’s Kim employs "kismet" in conversational exchanges, suggesting both acceptance of fate and a playful negotiation with it, as seen when characters use the term to signal an unavoidable result or to lighten the gravity of a situation ([5], [6], [7], [8]). F. Scott Fitzgerald also touches on this motif in This Side of Paradise, where "kismet" marks the sudden and passionate emergence of love ([9]). Together, these examples reveal how "kismet" bridges different narrative voices to highlight the universal and often uncontrollable nature of destiny.
  1. Seems to be what you call yashmak or I mean kismet.
    — from Ulysses by James Joyce
  2. Kismet. Let me off this once.
    — from Ulysses by James Joyce
  3. Corns on his kismet however.
    — from Ulysses by James Joyce
  4. Kismet.
    — from Ulysses by James Joyce
  5. It is my Kismet.
    — from Kim by Rudyard Kipling
  6. Yes, tell him it's Kismet. Kismet, mallum?
    — from Kim by Rudyard Kipling
  7. No man can escape his Kismet.
    — from Kim by Rudyard Kipling
  8. Yes, tell him it's Kismet. Kismet, mallum?
    — from Kim by Rudyard Kipling
  9. KISMET Within two weeks Amory and Rosalind were deeply and passionately in love.
    — from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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