How we cite our quotes: (Part.Paragraph)
Quote #7
And when two such people encounter each other, and their eyes meet, the past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only. (2.257)
Love is one of the most important manifestations of fate in The Alchemist. The cool part about it is that it isn't just one person realizing their dream; it´s a moment where two people´s dreams combine, because the mysterious hand that wrote the whole world history has decided that they would be in love. (Of course, notice that Santiago gets to travel the world which Fatima has to hang out in the desert and wait. Girls, always hanging around waiting for their true love to show up, right?)
Quote #8
"If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil. And one can always come back. If what you had found was only a moment of light, like the explosion of a star, you would find nothing on your return." (2.467)
Okay, Mr. Alchemist, you´re getting pretty abstract with your yakkity-yak. Let´s unpack this code. The alchemist is using alchemy as a metaphor for love; if Santiago has found true love or pure matter, it will last forever, even as he goes out on his quests for treasure. But if it's just a crush or a flirtation—a moment of light—then there was no substance there in the first place and it won't last.
Quote #9
"Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him," his heart said. "We, people's hearts, seldom say much about those treasures, because people no longer want to go in search of them. We speak of them only to children. Later, we simply let life proceed, in its own direction, toward its own fate." (2.513)
Here's another fate + free will moment. Apparently everyone is fated to find a treasure (really? um, still waiting over here), but we're also able to use our free will to ignore the signs and refuse to seek the treasure. In other words, we should be buying those lottery tickets?