The Beatryce Prophecy

In Chapter 20, during a discussion between the king and his advisor, the king reaffirms that his prophecy came true by saying, “We must act to make our fate come true” (83). Ironically, the king says this about a prophecy, but this sentiment is the exact opposite of prophecy because it reinforces the idea that people make their own choices and can decide on whatever destiny they want, ideas supported throughout the novel. Through Beatryce’s mermaid story, Jack and the others rescuing Beatryce, and the counselor’s character arc, The Beatryce Prophecy explores how the characters have control over what happens to them.

As a storyteller controls the direction of stories, a person’s choices determine their destiny. Much like Beatryce does with the mermaid’s story, the characters can choose to follow whatever path they want. When Beatryce first arrives in the dungeon, she is alone and afraid, and she does not feel she has control over what happens to her. The mermaid story gives her something to focus on so she can move past her feelings of helplessness, which is reflected in the story’s setup of a mermaid who has a beautiful life. After the counselor visits and tells her that prophecies are up to the interpreter, Beatryce realizes her prophecy has no control over her. With this realization, the mermaid story becomes a metaphor for her decision to take hold of her fate. The mermaid makes choices that do not always end well, but in the end, she gets what she wants because she has the power to bring about her destiny. This mirrors Beatryce’s decision to tell the king a story rather than blame him for the past and how Beatryce’s choices led to her freedom, finding her mother, and moving forward into a brighter future. Beatryce’s choice to shape her future lets her break free of the constraints prophecy once put upon her and embrace her full potential.

Destinies are built to be changed. After Beatryce is captured, her friends set out to rescue her, and the changes they exhibit along the way, specifically through Jack and Edik, show how one’s past does not dictate one’s future. Since the death of his parents, Jack has gone through the motions of life while remaining steadfastly determined to exact revenge on the robber when he got the chance. When he is faced with the robber, though, Jack’s recent experiences make him hesitate because finding friends and learning to love have changed who he is and, therefore, the destiny he wants. Rather than choosing to continue the cycle of hate and destruction, Jack releases the past to make himself a more positive future, showing how external factors influence who people are and who they become. Similarly, Edik changes the rescue mission. Since joining the brotherhood, Edik has lived by the rule that prophecy is absolute. In the beginning, he believed Beatryce was the girl who would unseat the king and bring about change, even as he worried about what this might do to her. After Beatryce is captured, Edik realizes that the prophecy matters less than protecting someone he cares about. New information counters what the brotherhood has taught, and Edik embraces the truth of his new life, leaving behind what doesn’t suit him and changing how he will respond to prophecy going forward.

Destinies can be manipulated. While the brothers of the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing believe the prophecies they write have specific meanings for singular situations, this turns out not to be true, something the king’s counselor uses to his advantage. There is nothing special about the boy the counselor selects to become king—he simply fits a prophecy’s requirement that the youngest son of a youngest son become king. With this prophecy as backup, the counselor guides the boy to become king, not because there is divine providence to support his ascension, but because doing so brings the counselor one step closer to his ultimate goal of revenge against Beatryce’s family. Once the king is on the throne, the counselor convinces him that the prophecy about a girl child refers to Beatryce and that she must be destroyed, even though there is no proof this is true. The counselor manipulates vague words and the king’s fears to get what he wants, and by doing so, he interrupts the potential futures of others. Without his interference, the boy likely would not have become king, and Beatryce’s family likely would not have been killed. The counselor’s choice to pursue the destiny he wanted upended the destinies of others, leaving those affected to either play out the parts they’ve been assigned or choose a new path.

Destinies are fragile things that can be changed with the slightest shift, and thus, living life by a fixed idea of who and what a person will become is impractical and stifling. When the characters of The Beatryce Prophecy decide what they want, they make choices to bring them toward their goals, and they are not afraid to pivot as those goals shift. In doing so, they create the futures they want to have, showing how they are ultimately in control of their destinies.