# Fate and Chance in The Arrow of Gold

> Theme guide for The Arrow of Gold by Joseph Conrad.

Events unfold with a sense of inevitability and 'punctualness,' as if driven by fate, yet chance encounters and accidents—like the meeting in the café—set the entire adventure in motion.

## Where it surfaces

- [First Note](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_arrow_of_gold_se/chapters/first-note): The narrator's recruitment is presented as a matter of chance and the contact of two minds, highlighting the role of fate in his adventure.
- [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_arrow_of_gold_se/chapters/part-i-i): The narrator's chance meeting with Mills and Captain Blunt in the café, and the decision to go to Blunt's rooms, feels like a significant, perhaps fated, turn in his life, marking the end of a previous existence.
- [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_arrow_of_gold_se/chapters/part-i-ii): The narrator reflects on the idea of fatality embodied in people like Blunt and Therese, and the role of chance in Rita's life.
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_arrow_of_gold_se/chapters/part-ii-iv): The narrator's encounter with Doña Rita and the decision to join the enterprise feel like a turning point, with elements of chance and destiny.
- [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_arrow_of_gold_se/chapters/part-v-iii): The narrator's escape from ambushes and the final shipwreck highlight the role of chance and fate in his fortunes.
- [Chapter VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_arrow_of_gold_se/chapters/part-v-vi): The unexpected arrival of Ortega and the ensuing chaos suggest the role of chance and fate in the characters' lives.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_arrow_of_gold_se/themes/fate_and_chance
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_arrow_of_gold_se/themes