# Fate and Destiny in Lais

> Theme guide for Lais by Marie de France.

Characters are often bound by prophecies or inescapable fates, such as Gugemar's wound that can only be healed by a specific lady, or the doomed love of Tristan and Isoude, highlighting the inevitability of love's consequences.

## Where it surfaces

- [The Lay of Gugemar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lais_se/chapters/the-lay-of-gugemar): The characters are driven by fate, as seen in the prophetic doe and the destined meeting of Gugemar and the lady.
- [The Lay of the Dolorous Knight](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lais_se/chapters/the-lay-of-the-dolorous-knight): The tournament's tragic outcome and the lady's inability to choose among the lovers suggest a fatalistic view of love and death, culminating in the knight's claim that his living sorrow is a worse fate.
- [The Lay of the Two Lovers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lais_se/chapters/the-lay-of-the-two-lovers): The squire's refusal to drink the potion at the critical moment and the lovers' predetermined end highlight the inescapable fate that binds them.
- [The Lay of Equitan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lais_se/chapters/the-lay-of-equitan): The tale illustrates the moral that those who plot evil often fall into their own trap, as Equitan dies in the very bath he intended for the seneschal.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lais_se/themes/fate_and_destiny
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lais_se/themes