Role of Fate in 'The House of the Spirits' by Isabel Allende and 'The Chronicles of a Death Foretold'by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Essay by cutsdishHigh School, 11th gradeD+, June 2006

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Fate, as defined, is an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future. Fate exists in everybody's life. It is just like an inescapable flow of a river. But, this inescapable flow of river does have many rivulets (sub-rivers) opening. The rivulet we choose is our free will. However, whatever the consequence, it is fate. Fate plays a very distinct and vital role in 'The House of the Spirits' by Isabel Allende and 'The Chronicles of a Death Foretold' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

On the first insight into the 'The House of the Spirits,' it clearly shows that the characters are suffering from the twists and turns of fate which is the result of their own actions while in the murder mystery of Gabriel García Marquez, 'The Chronicles of a Death Foretold' the whole town needs to be blamed for the Santiago's murder.

However a much deeper insight connects both these novels to the theme of fate.

In 'The House of the Spirits', Clara is able to predict future on account of her clairvoyance. However, though her clairvoyance makes it possible for her to be omniscient to some extent she follows her fate as she sees it. For eg. She announces to marry Esteban without love because she had seen it in her future. Also, Clara prepares for her own death. Clara has a free will to change both of these but she simply accepts it i.e., accepts her fate and acts in the same away. Plancida Linero in the 'Chronicles of a Death Foretold', on the other hand is an expert in the interpretation of dreams fails to realize the omen in her son's dreams. Here a supposition exists with enough assurance that if Plancida had realized the omen in...