By the time a person has achieved years adequate for choosing a direction, the die is cast and the moment has long since passed which determined the future.

The remark expresses a fatalistic view of self-determination: by the time someone feels mature enough to “choose a direction,” the decisive forces shaping their life—family expectations, early education, social class, gender roles, and formative experiences—have already done their work. The image of “the die is cast” suggests an irreversible throw made earlier, before conscious agency fully develops. Read this way, the quote critiques the cultural promise that adulthood brings free choice, implying instead that character and opportunity are largely fixed in youth. It also resonates with modern ideas about path dependence: early constraints and habits narrow later options, making “choice” feel belated.