Drives the Narrative of Human Life: Fate

¶ … drives the narrative of human life: Fate or character?

In ancient epic tales, fate or the will of the gods is often a palpable force that affects human behavior. However, human beings also have a role in shaping their own destiny in terms of their respective characters. Although there is a quality to human life that drives the plots of ancient epics such as The Epic of Gilgamesh that is transcendent of the human will and ability to shape one's fate, there are also aspects of destiny that can be attributed to what we would call 'character' in modernity.

In Gilgamesh, for example, the great warrior-king finds himself powerless to save his friend Enkidu from death after bringing a curse upon their respective heads by killing the monstrous Humbaba of the Cedar Mountains and falling afoul of the will of the goddess Ishtar. Although Gilgamesh possesses strength beyond that of mortal men, his arrogance and belief that he can ignore the fact that Humbaba has powers he cannot understand ultimately humbles him. Later, Gilgamesh fails in his ability to obtain eternal life. The Old Testament similarly contains cycles of narratives which suggest the arrogance of humanity and the fragility of humans before God. Adam and Eve strive to obtain the fruits of the Tree of Knowledge and lose paradise in Genesis; leaders such as the Egyptian Pharaoh and King Saul find that their mortal and earthly power is no guarantee when God's will is involved. Their regal character and assumptions about how the universe operates are shown to be incorrect, even if God, rather than impersonal fate or a collective of vengeful gods serves up their comeuppance.

However, some ancient epics show a more subtle interaction between character, the gods, and fate. In Medea, Jason's decision to marry a non-Greek woman who is a witch results in a tragedy after their divorce. Medea kills their children and Jason's new bride. Medea is both a woman scorned, yet also a pitiable woman. She is powerful yet also powerless to win back her husband's heart. While there are clearly forces of the universe operating that are larger than the abilities of the human protagonists to control them, the character's desires are also domestic, and are not simply a case of humans clashing with godlike figures. Medea's character creates the plot of the narrative just as much as the way the will of the gods operates in the universe.

The sense that character drives plot is also manifested in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, which chronicle the journeys of a series of pilgrims who tell stories on their way to the shrine of Thomas a Becket. The lusty Wife of Bath tells a story which advocates a woman having full reign over her household, while many of the more pious religious characters tell stories that contradict their image of religiosity. (And even the Wife admits that one of her husbands beat her, contradicting to some extent her feminist tale and bawdy persona). The reader's perceptions of the stories are affected by their perceptions of the teller, and the teller's status adds additional meaning and nuance to the story. Fate may not drive the narrative as an embodied divine force, but plot does not exist separate from the teller.

However, perhaps no story is more subtle in the manner in which plot and character intersect than Shakespeare's Othello. On one hand, the hero Iago appears to be an instrument of malicious fate, orchestrating the mental breakdown of the good, Moorish general Othello. On the other hand, Othello's hidden insecurities about how his race and his age may cause Desdemona to turn from him and love Cassio clearly contribute to his willingness to believe Iago. Iago's triumph depends upon circumstance but also upon Othello's willingness to trust a fellow soldier over his wife.