One’s destiny has been a question for all of time.  In earlier civilizations, fate was seen as something predetermined by the gods.  The gods controlled everything and no matter how hard one tried to avoid his fixed path, the gods kept him on it.  However, in the French play “The Barber of Seville” by Pierre Beaumarchais  fate seems manmade.

Dr. Bartolo and Count Almaviva both want to marry Rosine with their own free will.  There is no divine intervention forcing them to do otherwise.  In fact, both take matters into their own hands.  Dr. Bartolo decides to hurry with the proceedings of the wedding and tries to keep Rosine out of contact with other men.  Count Almaviva dresses himself up and attempts to woo Rosine.  With all the secrets and skepticism, there is no help other than from the minds of men.

The only help the Count gets is from Figaro.  Figaro aids the Count in his quest, with the qualities and advantages he has.  He is able to help the Count get into Dr. Bartolo’s house and see Rosine.  Then Dr. Bartolo falls asleep during the music lessons due his own inability to stay awake.  The count takes advantage of the situation and kisses Rosine.

Towards the end, Dr. Bartolo doesn’t use any type of magic to seduce or entrap Rosine; he simply uses lies.  He lies because he is a man and because he is limited to him manly powers.  He can’t watch Rosine every moment, nor can he stop other men from seeing her.  What he can do though, is create doubts within her mind and trick her.

Since, his lies are lies and can’t be made true, Dr. Bartolo loses Rosine to Count Almaviva.  Neither man played with any type of divine advantage.  They had to do what was in their powers to try and win Rosine.  For that reason, destiny has begun to lose its edge as time progresses.  With time, comes the growth of individuality, which leads to the belief that we are the commanders of our own fate.