Choices are the hinges of destiny.

Markham’s aphorism compresses a moral philosophy into a mechanical image: a hinge is small and easily overlooked, yet it determines how a door moves and what spaces become accessible. Likewise, individual decisions—often made in ordinary moments—become the pivot points on which larger life outcomes turn. The line implies agency and responsibility: destiny is not merely received or fated, but shaped through choice. At the same time, the metaphor suggests irreversibility and directionality; once a door swings, the room you enter changes what follows. In Markham’s reform-minded poetic world, the saying also carries an ethical charge: personal and civic futures depend on deliberate, conscientious decisions.