There still exists some confusion about naturalism and determinism in literature. However, this confusion can be easily combated by analyzing the work of prominent authors like Guy de Maupassant and Stephen Crane. They helped to solidify determinism in literature during the naturalistic period. Naturalism, at its core, is the theory that all events, things, and being are natural. On the other hand, determinism claims the unyielding force of fate that does not allow alternatives. For example, when naturalism and determinism are combined, the reason for everything is that natural laws are immovable and inescapable.
This notion is what Stephen Crane tries to portray in his work, On the Open Boat. In this short story, the characters are outright confronted by the forces of nature. These forces, including the ocean, its currents, the winds, and the sun, control the characters’ lives, showing the determinism and naturalism in the power source. The source of control is nature and its laws, not a magical higher authority, demonstrating naturalism’s roots in this work. Determinism comes in the concept that characters are devoid of this power to act of their free will and determine their fate. Moreover, the events are random, as seen in the line, “shipwrecks are apropos of nothing.” Nature is indifferent to the character, and there is no greater meaning behind the events, “she was indifferent, flatly indifferent.” In other words, for Crane, nature itself is deterministic.
More complex themes arise in Guy de Maupassant’s The Necklace. First, the reader is led to believe that determinism in the fate of the main character, Mathilde, is driven symbolically by the lost necklace borrowed from Madame Forestier. Mathilde exclaims, “How would it have been if she had not lost that necklace? Who knows? Who knows? How singular is life, and how full of changes! How small a thing will ruin or save one!”. She believes that her life and welfare are dependent on this necklace, and if she manages to get this necklace, she will achieve her dreams of prosperity, beauty, and happiness. However, it is revealed that the source of Mathilde’s agony was her inability to be truthful with Madame Forestier. She finds herself poor, old, and devoid of her youthful looks.
It can be guessed that inability to tell the truth is a deterministic driving force. However, it is not the case. Rather than that, determinism shows in Mathilde’s financial position and can be seen in the lines, “For women belong to no caste, no race; their grace, their beauty, and their charm serving them in the place of birth and family.” No matter how hard Mathilde works, even though she repaid her debt, she can never achieve the prosperity she dreams about compared to the girls born into wealth.