she thought, feeling that the Almighty Hand, hitherto unseen, was becoming manifest in all that was now taking place. “Well, Mamma? Everything is ready. What's the matter?” asked Natasha, as with animated ...
What does the adverb “now” imply in this context? Which came with past tense.
Does it give the meaning of “up to “that” moment”, on the contrary as it usually implies “at this moment”?
I think if the sentence were this way, replacing “had been” with “was”, it would be more better and appropriate to the context to make sense of “up to that moment”.
To go such way:
she thought, feeling that the Almighty Hand, hitherto unseen, was becoming manifest in all that had now been taking place. “Well, Mamma? Everything is ready. What's the matter?” asked Natasha, as with animated ...
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- What do you think?
Oxford dictionary: Now
- (at) the present time
Where are you living now?
It's been two weeks now since she called.
It's too late now.
From now onI'll be more careful.
He'll be home by now.
I've lived at home up till now.
That's all for now.
- at or from this moment, but not before
- Start writing now.
- I am now ready to answer your questions.
- (informal) used to show that you are annoyed about something
Now they want to tax food!
What do you want now?
It's broken. Now I'll have to get a new one.
- used to get someone's attention before changing the subject or asking them to do something
- Now, listen to what she's saying.
- Now, the next point is quite complex.
- Now come and sit down.
- Now let me think…
...that has now been taking...) mixes tenses in an incongrous way.