How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
We human beings are only a part of something very much larger. […] We must use whatever methods we can to understand the movement of the universe around us and time our actions so that we are not fighting the currents, but moving with them. (10.98)
This is a general quote about fate that you could find in almost any book with superstitious characters, but the phrase "fighting the currents" recalls Chiyo's "water" energy. She loves those water metaphors so much, it makes us thirsty like a willow tree after a long drought.
Quote #8
"We don't become geisha so our lives will be satisfying. We become geisha because we have no other choice." (25.50)
This quote recalls one of the first lines in the book, about Chiyo not being born into the life of a geisha. No one is. It's a path girls only reach by fate, and for many, it's not a good path.
Quote #9
"You go around consulting almanacs, saying, 'Oh, I can't walk toward the east today, because my horoscope says it's unlucky!' But then when it's a matter of something affecting your entire lives, you simply look the other way." (25.83)
Nobu is insulting here, as usual, but he doesn't understand that geisha have no choice over major matters in their lives, so why would they try to change them? They can only take comfort in consulting the almanac and trying to control their fates for the small things in their lives.