The Mechanics of Fate

“Everyone knows the expression: "The whole world is a theater", but, in my opinion, no one has yet dared to transfer the laws of dramaturgy to real human life — and see if the "resolutions" and "climaxes" of fate correspond to the "expositions" that occurred in the distant past.

To test this theory, one should take the life of some well-known historical figure, whose existence is documented if not by the minute, then by the month, where there are no "white spots", where "everything is known" and beyond doubt. Here, the fates of Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, and Napoleon turned out to be very relevant.

…The idea of the book was born from the question: does God work as a playwright, does the concept of "fate" correspond to the laws we know from the theory of dramaturgy? When this question was asked, the author felt a legitimate horror, — as a well-read person, he understood that it was about the confessability of the ways of the Lord…

The author was very frightened. But the temptation was too great”.

Yuri Arabov