Examine The Treatment Of Fate And The Supernatural In Aselection Of Prose Fiction written Before The 20th Century

The first 200 words of this essay...

Robert Momber 15.07.2001

EXAMINE THE TREATMENT OF FATE

AND THE SUPERNATURAL IN A

SELECTION OF PROSE FICTION

WRITTEN BEFORE THE 20TH CENTURY

In the nineteenth century, people had much more belief in forces outside the ordinary laws of nature. People were not only more religious but they were also more superstitious and believed that some things were controlled by unknown forces from beyond human life. The two paranormal concepts they believed in were fate and the supernatural. The belief of these things scared people.

Some people thought that their life and everything that happens in it was already predetermined from eternity, and that they could do nothing to change it because even if they tried to change something, that change was meant to happen. This scared people because the thought of not having control over one's life means the future cannot be predicted at all. For example, somebody may go out and get run over but if they had known, they would not have gone out in the first place, but it is impossible to tell before it happens. This example is of how people believed in fate and destiny.