Fate.

Fate: a power that is believed to control what happens in the future. Fate itself is self-explanatory; however, the real mystery lies in its ability to change or ensure fate. If that last sentence doesn't make sense, it's because it really doesn't. It's mind-bending to think that fate can change (or preserve) fate. If you are confused, look at this:

"Oh, and I don't care about the vase."
"What?" I ask.
"Don't worry about it when you knock it over, I never like that vase anyway."
"Where?" I respond, turning around. As I spin, my coat flies out, knocking a vase off the shelf and I look to the floor as it smashes into a million pieces.
"There. But, like I said, it's fine."

So a man enters an oracle's home, and since the oracle can see the future, she knows he will knock over her vase. But how does he knock it over? Think about it: the reason he knocked it over was because she told him that he would. But if she hadn't said anything, the man would've taken off his coat and the vase would've been fine. Right? Or would he have knocked it over in another fashion, making the prophecy come true, whether told or untold? I think that the latter would have to be correct, going back to the definition of fate. According to that definition, fate has to come true whether told or not. Yet there is still a flaw with that: what if fate takes into account the telling of fate? Meaning that fate wasn't that the man would knock over the vase; the fate of that even was that the oracle would tell him that he would knock it over, causing him to knock it over, making the oracle not a person who is able to see fate, but rather just a part of fate. Mind-blowing.

Another prime example of fate being told is in Shakespeare's Macbeth. The witches are able to see the future, allowing them to tell prophecies to Macbeth and his posse. But does this actually make them come true? Let's take a look. In Scene 5.1, they tell him three things, all of which come true. But how?

"Beware Macduff!" - This first one is pretty straightforward: Macbeth is told to beware of Macduff. But his actions that follow are the interesting part. After hearing this, he has Macduff's entire family killed—angering Macduff and prompting him to attack Macbeth. But if Macbeth had not been told this, if he had not killed Macduff's family, might he have lived? After all, Macduff was only pushed over the edge after learning his family was killed, so without that final straw he may not have led an army against Macbeth.

"Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him." - This section leads Macbeth to think he cannot be harmed. After hearing this, he ignores advice to be cautious from his advisors, as he is under the impression that an entire wood cannot come to his castle (which is technically correct). Because of this, he sits in his castle relatively unprepared for the attack to come, eventually leading to his demise.

"For none born of a woman shall harm Macbeth." - The final part of Macbeth's downfall is even after the first two parts of the prophecy come true, he is still to arrogant to realize that the third will come true as well and acts invincible. If he had been in a sensible state of mind without being clouded with false arrogance, he likely would have realize that his doom was upon him and fled to save his life. However, he thought that it was impossible to not be born of a woman, so instead he stayed.

These false confidences that the witches ingrain in him cause his downfall, but would he have survived if they hadn't told him? Shakespeare presents this prophecy to be inevitable, the one and only future. But if he hadn't, or if the witches hadn't told Macbeth, would it have still come true? I think not, as Macbeth is a smart man and would have most likely avoided his "fate." However, the whole point of fate is that it has to come true and cannot be changed. Therefore, if it was not told to him, would it still be fate, or simply a mindless trialogue told by some insane women?

In conclusion, my view on fate is that it always comes true. If it remains untold, the audience does not know it, so it is assumed to come true. When a fortune is told, it is guaranteed to come true by the telling of it, as a character's attempt to either alter it or follow it will ultimately end up in its completion. And if the telling of fate changes a character's motives, then that telling was part of fate, but just never told to the audience. Therefore fate can never be wrong.