The Idea of Fate and the Labyrinth in “The Garden of Forking Paths”

Fate is a point central to Jorge Luis Borges story “The Garden of Forking Paths.” The idea that no matter what choice one makes, the eventual outcome is inevitable due to fate is important in this story and ultimately is the point.  

The story itself is like a labyrinth, with the main character, Tsun, a spy for the Germans, thinking that his life is over and his overall mission will not be completed due to obstacles which he somehow manages to get around.  The twisting, winding ways of the story as the audience follows Tsun’s journey throughout his mission, which is to kill someone with the last name of Albert so that it ends up in the news so his bosses will know where the British artillery park is, can confuse the audience, but it is a device to mimic a labyrinth similar to the labyrinth in the story.  Tsun has so many opportunities to fail at his mission, and yet somehow does not, it goes against the mindset that if given a plethora of choices, the option one chooses will have an impact on ensuing events.  Tsun could have failed and died in his bedroom, he could have failed on the platform when he saw Captain Madden, he could have failed when he arrived at Ashgrove, he could have failed once he realized that Dr. Albert had figured out the meaning of the labyrinth and could have ultimately decided not to kill him.  Tsun thinks, “It seemed incredible that this day, a day without warnings or omens, might be that of my implacable death,” so even he thinks he is going to fail at times (315).  Tsun's language even describes his own belief in fate, even though for most of the story, his belief is that he is going to die without completing his mission.  His use of the word "implacable" implies the belief in fate, for example.  He also searches for omens and signs throughout the story, looking for something to show his fate.   The idea of fate where Tsun will ultimately succeed in his mission is like a magnet, pulling him to his ultimate fate at the end of the story where he kills Dr. Albert and the story ends up in newspapers, and Tsun dies, as Tsun had predicted would be his fate.