# Fate and Free Will in Short Fiction

> Theme guide for Short Fiction by Herman Melville.

Characters seem caught in predetermined courses—Billy's tragic end, Bartleby's mysterious decline—raising questions about whether their fates are the result of their own choices or of inexorable forces beyond their control, such as social systems or inherent nature.

## Where it surfaces

- [Sketch First: The Isles at Large](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/chapters/sketch-first-the-isles-at-large): The tortoises' 'self-condemned' appearance and the superstition of wicked officers being transformed suggest a fate imposed by past actions, while the islands' unchanging nature implies a predetermined doom.
- [Sketch Eighth: Norfolk Isle and the Chola Widow](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/chapters/sketch-eighth-norfolk-isle-and-the-chola-widow): Hunilla's survival and rescue are portrayed as a narrow chance, with a mysterious presentiment guiding her to the ship just in time.
- [The Happy Failure](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/chapters/the-happy-failure): The uncle's struggle against the 'universal current into oblivion' and his eventual acceptance of failure explore the interplay between human effort and inevitable fate.
- [The Lightning-Rod Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/chapters/the-lightning-rod-man): The narrator asserts his free will and trust in divine providence ('the hairs of our heads are numbered'), rejecting the salesman's deterministic fear of lightning.
- [The Fiddler](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/chapters/the-fiddler): Hautboy's fall from fame and his subsequent cheerful acceptance of his reduced circumstances raise questions about destiny, choice, and the nature of happiness.
- [The Bell-Tower](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/chapters/the-bell-tower): The narrative explores the tension between Bannadonna's ambitious free will and the seemingly fated, catastrophic outcome of his creation, as hinted by the mysterious sounds and the eventual tragedy.
- [I: (An Inside Narrative)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/chapters/i-an-inside-narrative): Billy's fatalistic acceptance of his impressment and his lack of agency highlight the tension between destiny and personal choice.
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/chapters/iv): Nelson's deliberate choice to display himself in battle, courting death, raises questions about fate versus personal agency.
- [Chapter XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/chapters/xviii): Billy's inability to speak and his impulsive blow seem fated, while Vere's deliberate choice to enforce the law underscores the weight of moral responsibility.
- [Chapter XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/chapters/xix): Billy's acceptance of his sentence and the private interview with Vere suggest a resignation to fate, while Vere's agonized choice reflects the conflict between duty and personal feeling.
- [Chapter XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/chapters/xx): Billy is described as 'nipped in the vice of fate,' highlighting the inevitability of his execution.
- [A Digression](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/chapters/a-digression): The debate over willpower versus mechanical spasm touches on the tension between human agency and deterministic physical processes.
- [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/chapters/xxiii): The execution and burial proceed with a sense of inevitability, while the crew's superstitious reactions suggest a struggle between fate and individual agency.
- [Chapter XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/chapters/xxiv): Vere's ambition is cut short by a random musket-ball, and his dying words suggest an unresolved fate with Billy.
- [Daniel Orme](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/chapters/daniel-orme): The narrative questions whether Orme's character and fate were shaped by 'fatality' or by his own choices, and whether his death brought remorse or peaceful memory.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/themes/fate_and_free_will
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/themes