Comments on: Fate Versus Free Will: A Case Study on Literary Themes

By: E. E. Rawls (author)

E. E. Rawls (author) — Tue, 03 Jan 2017 05:24:00 +0000

I finished reading The Night Circus, and what a lovely tale it is! It’s a perfect example of fate and free will, and how each person chooses their future: whether they let fate decide and go with the flow, or break away and make their own desired choice (as Marco and Celia did).
The perfect book to use as an example for this post! (I’ve yet to read The Alchemist still.)
Great post, Sara, so well written!

By: Sara Letourneau

Sara Letourneau — Thu, 29 Dec 2016 01:34:00 +0000

In reply to Faith Rivens.

I think I remember you saying that before, about “fate vs free will” in Pirate Eyes. Maybe you mentioned it at your blog, or on Twitter? Either way, I’m glad you enjoyed this post and find this theme so inspiring and worthwhile to pursue. 🙂

Plus, as I was telling Sarah Higbee above, writing this post happened at the right time. I was re-reading The Alchemist, not even knowing that I would need its messages just then – and I’d originally planned to do a totally different topic, but this one came to me much more easily. Maybe it’s another example of fate and its interventions?

By: Faith Rivens

Faith Rivens — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 19:25:00 +0000

I love this post Sara! Fate vs. Free Will is one of the major themes in Pirate Eyes and tends to make an appearance in most of my novels (though not so much in Eléonore). It’s also a topic I tend to pursue constantly in my own life. Rereading the Alchemist proved a turning point for me this year. It helped to reinvigorate my intentions and sent me off on the path to achieving a long-standing goal: publishing 🙂

Your examples are so spot on and well thought out. I am always in awe of how well you express yourself & the insight you lend. Amazing as always. 😀

“But if there’s one common thread that The Alchemist and The Night Circus share on fate and free will, it’s this: In the end, we may be the only ones holding ourselves back from what we want most.”
This ending thought is so poignant, and something I have come to believe in more and more with every passing year. May we never stop ourselves from pursuing that which makes us happy! May we never create obstacles for ourselves in a world that is already set on creating them for us!

By: Sara Letourneau

Sara Letourneau — Fri, 16 Dec 2016 01:24:00 +0000

In reply to sjhigbee.

The plan was always to run it until early February. 😉 I started it last week to give myself as much time as possible – but trust me, I understand wanting to wait to see how your finances are after the holidays. Thanks for your support and encouragement (it means the world to me), and I hope your husband’s work strike gets resolved soon. That must be making things uneasy in general for you right now…

By: sjhigbee

sjhigbee — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 23:17:00 +0000

In reply to Sara Letourneau.

Ah… it’s always difficult when those close to us feel very differently about the way we choose to lead our lives. For what it’s worth – I think you should go for it. I’m glad your GoFundMe campaign is extending till after Christmas… My husband is embroiled in a long-running industrial dispute that has now escalated into strike action through Christmas and afterwards – so we are running tight. There are many joys to being part of a large family, but it does mean that Christmas is very expensive:(. Hopefully I’ll be able to contribute something in the new year once we know where we stand…

By: Sara Letourneau

Sara Letourneau — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 21:24:00 +0000

In reply to sjhigbee.

It’s a theme that’s close to my heart, too, Sarah. I’d actually planned to do a whole other topic for this week’s post, but was struggling with it. So I decided to switch to “fate versus free will”… and as I was drafting this post and research examples in The Alchemist and The Night Circus, I received word that I’d been turned down on a scholarship for a writer’s retreat next year. It was disappointing (defeating, actually), but as one of my real-life friends put it, “You should still find a way to go. It’s not that often that you base your story world on Iceland and then find out about a writing retreat there. You’re meant to do this, one way or another.” She was right. How often does a “coincidence” like that happen?

So I’m going ahead with the trip, using a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for the expenses… and while most people have been supportive, other people (my parents, for example) have tried to persuade me not to go. But there’s too much synchronicity at work here, and if I don’t go next year, I know I’ll regret it. And all of that was going on as I was drafting this article… and all I could think was, “Wow. I needed to write this piece right now.” It gave me the opportunity to reflect on things and to “be more like Santiago” and follow the path I choose, not what others choose for me.

And your story – talk about luck and signs. That’s definitely an example of fate (or the Universe, as it’s called in The Alchemist) giving us an answer to an important life question and helping us find the right track. Thanks very much for sharing. 🙂

By: sjhigbee

sjhigbee — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 13:23:00 +0000

Another storming post, Sara. And on a subject close to my heart… I happen to believe quite strongly that no matter how much we want and try to have agency over our lives – there are events and circumstances that can stack up either for us or against us, nudging us elsewhere. While I don’t believe in Thomas Hardy’s rather bleak message that Fate is almost invariablely against our striving to better ourselves, there are times when it can certainly seem that way. Way back, when I was teaching a special needs class and really enjoying it, we had an OFSTED inspection. I had been swithering whether to hand in my notice and spend more time writing – when the inspectors arrived, like every other member of staff I worked hard to ensure my classroom was the best it could be and waited for the inevitable arrival through the door… only it didn’t happen. I was virtually the only member of staff who wasn’t visited and inspected. Several colleagues congratulated me on my luck – but I felt incredibly let down and very isolated. No feedback, no sense of whether I was on the right track, no tips as to how to improve my craft. I took it as a sign that my days in the classroom should now end and handed in my notice. As it happens, I do still teach but if I hadn’t left when I did, I think my life would be very different right now.
So yes, I do feel that fate often has a hand in our lives. Thank you for highlighting this particular aspect of plotting that is often implicitly embedding within the narrative, but can and should be further examined to ensure the balance rings true, either way…

By: Sara Letourneau

Sara Letourneau — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 16:33:00 +0000

In reply to Leanne Sowul. Thanks very much, Leanne! :)

By: Leanne Sowul

Leanne Sowul — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 14:15:00 +0000

Sara, I love that even when I haven’t read the books you’re referencing, I can still take away the lesson you’re teaching. You put so much into each post- it’s amazing!

By: Sara Letourneau

Sara Letourneau — Tue, 13 Dec 2016 14:01:00 +0000

In reply to Jason Bougger.

We all want our characters to make their choices, don’t we? 😉 But it’s funny, because like you mentioned, sometimes they try to escape fate, or a life that other people want them to live. And by doing so, they create their own fate. Not every book / story emphasizes this theme, but it happens more often than we might think.

Thanks very much for reading and commenting, Jason!