# Fate and Uncertainty in The Secret City

> Theme guide for The Secret City by Hugh Walpole.

The book is steeped in a sense of fatalism and the unpredictable nature of life, with characters feeling caught by destiny, supernatural omens, and the mysterious, uncontrollable forces of the city and history.

## Where it surfaces

- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_city_se/chapters/viii): The Russian people's fatalism after Warsaw and Vera's vague fears about her family reflect a sense of impending doom.
- [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_city_se/chapters/xi): The narrator feels hopelessly in the dark, unable to distinguish friend from enemy, and senses an impending catastrophe.
- [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_city_se/chapters/xiii): Durward's fear of Semyonov and the ominous change in atmosphere underscore the unpredictable and fateful nature of their encounters.
- [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_city_se/chapters/xiv): The narrator's feverish dreams and the unstable, icy imagery reflect a sense of impending doom and the precariousness of life.
- [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_city_se/chapters/xvi): Durdles feels drawn into events beyond his control; Vera faces an uncertain future.
- [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_city_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_city_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_city_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_city_se/chapters/iv): Semyonov warns of inevitable trouble and urges Durward to leave, while Durward's refusal sets the stage for an uncertain future.
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_city_se/chapters/vii): The narrator's superstition about crossing the Nevski as a threshold to a new order; the characters' uncertain futures amid political upheaval.
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_city_se/chapters/ix): The characters are caught in unpredictable danger, with the city transformed into a dreamlike, hostile landscape.
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_city_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_city_se/chapters/vi): Vera feels that Fate is stripping away everything she depended on; the political atmosphere is equally uncertain and ominous.
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_city_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_city_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_city_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_city_se/chapters/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.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_city_se/themes/fate_and_uncertainty
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_city_se/themes