The Trail of the Serpent · Question
How does The Trail of the Serpent develop the theme of Fate and Determinism?
Answer
The Trail of the Serpent by M. E. Braddon develops Fate and Determinism across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
Characters are often trapped by their circumstances or past actions, with the weather, chance encounters, and hidden secrets shaping events, suggesting a deterministic world where justice is elusive and fate is cruel.
The chapter questions whether bad weather and circumstances can influence a person's mind, and Jabez's past as a foundling seems to shape his present and future.
Richard's casual actions, like turning away from an acquaintance at the station, are foreshadowed as having a 'dark and dreadful influence on his life,' suggesting a cruel destiny.
The narrator muses on whether a foundling baby might be fated to play a part in dragging a murderer to justice, suggesting a predetermined retribution.
Evidence in the book
- The Good Schoolmaster
The chapter questions whether bad weather and circumstances can influence a person's mind, and Jabez's past as a foundling seems to shape his present and future.
- IV: Richard Marwood Lights His Pipe
Richard's casual actions, like turning away from an acquaintance at the station, are foreshadowed as having a 'dark and dreadful influence on his life,' suggesting a cruel destiny.
- The Dumb Detective a Philanthropist
The narrator muses on whether a foundling baby might be fated to play a part in dragging a murderer to justice, suggesting a predetermined retribution.
- Seven Letters on the Dirty Alphabet
Richard's despair and calm acceptance of his fate, as he feels his doom is sealed unless a miracle intervenes, underscores the theme of inevitable destiny.
- A Golden Secret
The old woman suggests fate played a role in Jabez's survival after being thrown into the river.
- V: The King of Spades
The card reading suggests an inescapable fate for the 'king of spades,' with a violent death predicted within twenty-four hours.
- X: Animal Magnetism
Blurosset's card reading and algebraic calculations suggest a deterministic view of life, while Valerie feels trapped by her past and fate.
- I: The Boy from Slopperton
Richard's life is governed by unchangeable routine and the passage of time, as he counts stones and shadows, trapped in a predetermined existence.
