Across books · Theme
Fate and Inevitability
The narrative is steeped in a sense of doom and predestination, with characters—both white and Native—caught in an inexorable historical process that leads to destruction and loss.
Fate and Inevitability appears as a literary theme in 13 works in the BetterReads curated set. Each book develops the idea in its own plot, voice, and historical moment — the links below open the book-scoped theme guide beside the text.
The narrative is steeped in a sense of doom and predestination, with characters—both white and Native—caught in an inexorable historical process that leads to destruction and loss.
A deterministic force governs events, with characters unable to escape their doom, such as the doomed duelists in 'The Middle Toe of the Right Foot' and the prophetic dreams that foretell death in 'The Death of Halpin Frayser.'
Events are frequently portrayed as destined or guided by divine will, such as the fall of kings or the outcomes of battles, with oracles and omens playing a key role in shaping human actions.
The novel's epigraph from Machiavelli and the characters' frequent reflections on luck and doom suggest a fatalistic worldview, where past actions and the criminal life lead inexorably to ruin.
The stories frequently emphasize a sense of unavoidable destiny or 'hideous necessity,' where characters are trapped by circumstances, family history, or their own choices, leading to tragic outcomes.
Tess's life is marked by a series of tragic coincidences and ill omens, suggesting that her downfall is predestined and that she is a victim of forces beyond her control.
In each book
A Cycle of the West
The narrative is steeped in a sense of doom and predestination, with characters—both white and Native—caught in an inexorable historical process that leads to destruction and loss.
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Can Such Things Be?
A deterministic force governs events, with characters unable to escape their doom, such as the doomed duelists in 'The Middle Toe of the Right Foot' and the prophetic dreams that foretell death in 'The Death of Halpin Fr
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Histories
Events are frequently portrayed as destined or guided by divine will, such as the fall of kings or the outcomes of battles, with oracles and omens playing a key role in shaping human actions.
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Little Caesar
The novel's epigraph from Machiavelli and the characters' frequent reflections on luck and doom suggest a fatalistic worldview, where past actions and the criminal life lead inexorably to ruin.
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Short Fiction
The stories frequently emphasize a sense of unavoidable destiny or 'hideous necessity,' where characters are trapped by circumstances, family history, or their own choices, leading to tragic outcomes.
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Tess of the d’Urbervilles
Tess's life is marked by a series of tragic coincidences and ill omens, suggesting that her downfall is predestined and that she is a victim of forces beyond her control.
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The Dark Forest
A sense of fatalism pervades the narrative, with characters feeling swept along by forces beyond their control—whether the machinery of war, the whims of love, or the mysterious pull of destiny—leading to a resigned acce
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The Haunted Hotel
The narrative suggests that certain events are predestined, with characters drawn inexorably toward the haunted room and their fates, reinforcing a sense of inescapable doom.
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The Informer
The characters seem trapped by their circumstances and past actions, with Gypo's doomed flight and the Organization's relentless pursuit suggesting an inescapable fate, reinforced by the bleak, deterministic atmosphere o
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The King in Yellow
The stories are imbued with a sense of inescapable doom, where characters are drawn toward tragic ends by forces beyond their control, such as the prophetic warnings of the King in Yellow or the inexorable march toward w
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The Land That Time Forgot
Characters often feel doomed by fate, as seen in the manuscript's opening and Tom's reflections, with events unfolding beyond their control, reinforcing a sense of predestined tragedy.
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The Murders in Praed Street
The numbered counters and the killer's elaborate planning suggest a deterministic, almost fatalistic view of the murders, as victims are warned in advance and seem unable to escape their preordained doom.
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Yama
The narrative repeatedly suggests an inexorable, almost cosmic force driving individuals and institutions toward destruction, as seen in the cyclical patterns of downfall, the 'curse' over the brothels, and the character
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