wrestling with destiny
a look at a common (yet complex) literary theme
have you ever felt like bound by fate?
what is "destiny," anyway?
destiny
noun des·ti·ny \ˈdes-tə-nē\
Simple Definition of destiny
: what happens in the future : the things that someone or something will experience in the future
: a power that is believed to control what happens in the future
Source: Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary
When we understand that destiny is both our future AND a force that controls our future, we gain insight into our four ancient character's struggles with their destinies!
meet the destiny-wrestlers!
Gilgamesh Explores His Destiny
At first, Gilgamesh mocks death as "He looked at his friend and laughed: 'Now then, my friend, do you say the same?: "I am afraid to die?"'" ("Gilgamesh" 2.230-233). He also explores the idea of death, noting that "people often die before their time" (7.45). Although he references death, he is someone who feels immortal, exempt from the sting of an early death. He believes that his track record of slaying beasts, bedding women, and building kingdoms will continue!
Gilgamesh Resists His Destiny
("Oh woe has entered by vitals! I have grown afraid of death!" ["Gilgamesh" 9.4-5]). He begins to resist the idea of death, "Exploring the furthest reaches of the earth, Seeking everywhere for eternal life, Reaching in his might Utanapishtim the Distant One" (1.42-44). As Gilgamesh wrestles with his destiny, which is eventual death, he seeks the help of a man that offers the hope of immortality.
Gilgamesh Submits to His Destiny
"Gilgamesh, wherefore do you wander? The eternal life you are seeking you shall not find. When the gods created mankind, they established death for mankind, and withheld eternal life for themselves. As for you, Gilgamesh, let your stomach be full, always be happy, night and day. Make every day a delight, night and day play and dance... Look proudly on the little one holding your hand, let your mate be always blissful in your loins. This, then, is the work of mankind" ("Gilgamesh" 10.68-76, 80-82).
The story concludes with Gilgamesh returning home, hands empty of a cure for death, as he surveys and finds comfort and satisfaction in what his hands have built, and in his homeland. In this was, Gilgamesh submit to his destiny, accepting the facts that all men must eventually die, delighting in the present rather than bemoaning the future.
Job Explores His Destiny
But everything changes when the Adversary, with the Lord's permission, begins to afflict Job, which dramatically alters both Job's destiny and his understanding of it.
Job Resists His Destiny
Job Submits to His Destiny
Oedipus Explores His Destiny
Oedipus Resists His Destiny
Oedipus Submits to His Destiny
Hamlet Explores His Destiny
Hamlet Resists His Destiny
Hamlets Submits to His Destiny
"The rest is silence" (5.2, 330)