# The Role of Chance and Coincidence in The Man in Lower Ten

> Theme guide for The Man in Lower Ten by Mary Roberts Rinehart.

The narrative is driven by improbable coincidences—the wrong berth, the wreck, the swapped bags—that the narrator describes as a 'queer freak of the demons of chance' shaping his fate.

## Where it surfaces

- [I Go to Pittsburg](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_man_in_lower_ten_se/chapters/i-i-go-to-pittsburg): Blakeley reflects on the 'queer freak of the demons of chance' that led him into a crime and love affair, and his journey is set in motion by McKnight's excuse and the Bronson case.
- [A Torn Telegram](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_man_in_lower_ten_se/chapters/ii-a-torn-telegram): The narrator's chance observation of the tense couple at dinner and their later reappearance on the same train sets the stage for the unfolding mystery.
- [Across the Aisle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_man_in_lower_ten_se/chapters/iii-across-the-aisle): The narrator's mistaken berth and the switched belongings set off a chain of events leading to the discovery of the murder.
- [VIII: The Second Section](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_man_in_lower_ten_se/chapters/viii-the-second-section): The crash of the second section is a catastrophic coincidence that throws Blakeley and Alison together in a life-threatening situation.
- [IX: The Halcyon Breakfast](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_man_in_lower_ten_se/chapters/ix-the-halcyon-breakfast): The narrator and Alison are thrown together by the train wreck, and he discovers by chance that she is the woman in the photograph McKnight showed him.
- [XIV: The Trapdoor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_man_in_lower_ten_se/chapters/xiv-the-trapdoor): The narrator's decision to leave the trapdoor open, the empty revolver, and the timing of Johnson's arrival all contribute to a chain of coincidences that shape the night's events.
- [The Cinematograph](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_man_in_lower_ten_se/chapters/xv-the-cinematograph): The broken gold chain linking the farmhouse woman to the wreck is presented as a possible coincidence, but the narrator fears it is more sinister.
- [A Night at the Laurels](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_man_in_lower_ten_se/chapters/xxiii-a-night-at-the-laurels): The storm, the horse's injury, and the discovery of the open window all contribute to a sense of chance guiding the investigation.
- [In the Dining-Room](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_man_in_lower_ten_se/chapters/xxix-in-the-dining-room): The narrator reflects on the week's events as 'two sides of a triangle narrowing to an apex,' emphasizing the role of chance in bringing the characters together.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_man_in_lower_ten_se/themes/fate_and_coincidence
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_man_in_lower_ten_se/themes