Humbert is awaiting trial for murder, and act of his own free will. No one will argue that Humbert could have made other choices in this case. However, it can be argued whether his sudden coronary in the end was a twist of bad fate, or of good fate. On one hand, it ended his life, on the other; it saved him from life in prison. Lolita's death in childbirth brings up the same question. Was it a tragic death, or did it save her from a life of misery? Nabokov introduces the double-sided nature of fate and the idea that good or bad fate I a matter of perspective. No Exit and Lolita explore the issue of fate vs. free will from several different perspectives. "No Exit" questions the role of fate in the predicament of humans. Lolita examines the question of fate more deeply be adding the dimension of perspective to the interpretation of the events. The audience at first feels sad that the characters died, but it also implies the life that they would live, and asks the question of which is worse. However, nowhere is the question of fate vs. free will more prevalent than in the Greek tragedy.

Fate vs. free will is one of the most common themes found in Greek plays. Soothsayers, prophets, and oracles attempt to provide insight into the role of fate. In Oedipus Tyrannus, Laius learns from an oracle that Oedipus is "doomed" to die by the hand of his own son. The word "doomed" is synonymous with the hand of fate. If someone is doomed, they cannot escape the fate that awaits. The entire play is typically spent trying to avoid the fate for which one is destined, usually without success. In the Greek tragedy, that which is predicted by the hand of fate usually comes to pass, even if in the...

This is the essence of fate in the Greek tragedy.
When one examines the three pieces mentioned and considered the role of fate vs. free will, a difference between historical perspectives begins to emerge. In the older tale, Oedipus Tyrannus, the main character can do little to prevent their destiny from occurring. In Lolita, tragic events resulting from fate drive the decisions (free will) of the character. We also learn that when a person claims they have no choice, there often is another choice. The perspective that there is no choice is in actuality, justification of the choice that the person has made. The more modern more play, No Exit examines whether fate plays a role in the human condition at all, or whether we are all simply victims our own demise.

As one examines the question of fate vs. free will, it would appear that over time the human condition has shifted from being attributed to fate to being more of a result of free will. It represents a shift from and external locus of control (fate) to an internal one (free will). Regardless of which one a person tends to favor, the answer to the question leads to an interesting perspective on changes in societal attitudes about the role and place of man in the universe.

Works Cited

Nabokov, V. The Annotated Lolita. NY: Knopf Publishing Group. 1991.

Sartre, Jean-Paul. No Exit and Three Other Plays. NY: Vintage International, 1976.

Sophocles. Oedipus Tyrannus: A New Translation. Passages from Ancient Authors. Religion and Psychology: Some Studies. Criticism (Norton Critical Edition)

NY: W.W. Norton & Co. Inc. 1970.