Fate and Uncertainty

Where it surfaces

• VIII

  The Russian people's fatalism after Warsaw and Vera's vague fears about her family reflect a sense of impending doom.

• XI

  The narrator feels hopelessly in the dark, unable to distinguish friend from enemy, and senses an impending catastrophe.

• XIII

  Durward's fear of Semyonov and the ominous change in atmosphere underscore the unpredictable and fateful nature of their encounters.

• XIV

  The narrator's feverish dreams and the unstable, icy imagery reflect a sense of impending doom and the precariousness of life.

• XVI

  Durdles feels drawn into events beyond his control; Vera faces an uncertain future.

• XIX

  Durward's obsession with approaching danger and the sense that in Russia 'the smallest action achieved monstrous proportions' reflects the theme of fate and uncertainty.

• XX

  Semyonov's story about a man who sought death through another's hands reflects a fatalistic view of life and the uncertainty of human motives.

• II

  The chapter is suffused with a sense of impending change and personal crisis, as Lawrence's turmoil and Durward's flashbacks hint at larger forces at play.

• IV

  Semyonov warns of inevitable trouble and urges Durward to leave, while Durward's refusal sets the stage for an uncertain future.

• VII

  The narrator's superstition about crossing the Nevski as a threshold to a new order; the characters' uncertain futures amid political upheaval.

• IX

  The characters are caught in unpredictable danger, with the city transformed into a dreamlike, hostile landscape.

• IV

  The narrator feels a sense of impotence and uncertainty about the future, both for Nina and for the broader revolutionary situation, as events seem driven by forces beyond individual control.

• VI

  Vera feels that Fate is stripping away everything she depended on; the political atmosphere is equally uncertain and ominous.

• VII

  Markovitch expresses fear of himself, of Semyonov, and of the future, highlighting the pervasive uncertainty in Petrograd on the eve of revolution.

• Chapter X

  The characters are caught in a web of uncertain outcomes, with Lawrence feeling desperate and Bohun sensing that something is going to happen.

• XI

  Semyonov speaks of premonitions and intuitions about his departure, and the narrator feels a strange consciousness that this is their last meeting, highlighting the theme of fate and uncertainty.

• XVI

  The narrator feels trapped in a dreamlike inertia, unable to act despite a strong sense of duty, and the violent climax at Katerinhof unfolds as if predestined.