The Acceptance Of Determinism In Tom Stoppard's Arcadia

Tom Stoppard, in his hit play, Arcadia, utilizes many different themes to show how time affects the understanding of history; none of these themes have a greater impact than that of sex, or “carnal embrace”(1). Arcadia is built on a foundation of love and lust; characters from two different eras, the Regency era and the modern age, show parallels in their desires. “Carnal embrace” is inherent to Arcadia and this is shown when looking at sex’s effect through the lense of determinism. This theory of inevitability states that all things in life can be reduced into a formula that would be able to predict the future. Determinism is incessantly discussed in Arcadia and is even invented by Thomasina, a young girl from the Regency era who shows flashes

of brilliance, when she says,
If you could stop every atom in its position and direction, and if your mind could
comprehend all the actions thus suspended, then if you were really, really good at
algebra you could write the formula for all the future; and although nobody can be so
clever as to do it, the formula must exist just as if one could (1).

Thomasina’s discovery lives the test of time and is scrutinized by a modern character, Chloe, “[The formula] doesn’t work...because of sex. The only thing going wrong is people fancying people who aren’t supposed to be in that part of the plan” (73). Sex stifles the formula which consequently ruins the inevitability of the future and makes the past nearly impossible to decode. Chloe’s theory of love and lust being being the reason life has no calculated formula is spot on and it is shown throughout Arcadia.

The constant infatuation with sex is not confined to the modern era; in fact, the regent characters of Arcadia are much more liberal with their desires than the modern characters. These characters of the past, although way more eloquent in their confessions of lust, all have the same animalistic intentions at heart. These impulses of desire caused major rifts and plot points in the lives of these characters. One character that proved Chloe’s theory was Thomasina, the inventor of the theory of determinism. This thirteen year-old student showed the progression of how love takes a hold of a person and throws their life in an unpredictable direction. Thomasina began ignorant to the effect of love and even scrutinized humans for being too wrapped up in love; when talking about Cleopatra, she

says,
Everything is turned to love with her. New love, absent love, lost love – I
never knew a heroine that makes such noodles of our sex. It only needs a
Roman general to drop anchor outside the window and away goes the
empire like a christening mug into a pawn shop. If Queen Elizabeth had
been a Ptolemy history would have been quite different – we would be
admiring the pyramids of Rome and the great Sphinx of Verona (38).
Thomasina conveys her misgivings about love and lust by calling out a historical figure on such unnecessary emotions. Thomasina even shows through this quote the issue of how history could have been changed with the influence of sex; with the wind pushing ships to and from different nations, the entire course of history could have been changed by randomness through the vehicle of sex and love. Thomasina is aware of the effect sex has on society and history yet she does not translate it to her own life. Soon though, sex would leak into her brain and her curiosity towards love would show itself. Thomasina speaks the very first line in the play with curiosity towards sex; “Septimus, what is carnal embrace” (1). Thomasina is curious about the frequently talked about subject and seeks an answer from her tutor Septimus. Septimus, although prolonging the answer with manipulative banter, tells her what it is and she responds that the act is “disgusting and incomprehensible” (3). This is very contrary to her beliefs three years later where she is seeking a different type of perspective on sex from Septimus. Thomasina becomes obsessed with her education in romantic things like being able to waltz and to kiss and Septimus, being her tutor, is the primary source of all education. In the final moments of Arcadia, Thomasina convinces Septimus to waltz with her and they share kisses; then she invites him up to her room but he refuses.
Septimus: Be careful with your flame.
Thomasina: I will wait for you to come.
S: I cannot.
T: You must.
S: I will not.
Thomasina would die that night, hindering any love from coming to fruition, but this shows the effect love has on humans, whether they want it or not. Thomasina began ignorant to the influence love would have on her life but it was inevitable. She encounters first-hand how determinism is flawed due to the innate desires of adults. Thomasina’s progression towards loving shows why Hannah, Valentine, and Bernard struggle so greatly to decode the past. Without the influence of sex, life would be so easy to predict because humans would act in robotic ways that could be calculated, but since love is an emotion that can not be turned off or on, some actions are out of the hands of the characters. Bernard tries to understand the past through assumptions that have no root in reality and makes a theory that involves characters who actually have very minor roles in the real history; Bernard’s theory did not feature Thomasina and barely acknowledged Septimus yet they seem to play the most pivotal role in the real history of Sidley Park. Determinism for the future and the hindsight into the distant past go hand-in-hand in that their shortcomings are rooted in the neglect of human emotion.
Another character that had his entire life affected by his desires was Septimus, the tutor to Thomasina. Septimus was romantically involved with several women over the course of the play and his infatuations got him into squabbles. The greatest of all the squabbles was when he briefly fell in love with another man’s wife, Mrs. Chater. Septimus’ intentions came to fruition in a gazebo in Sidley Park and he was soon caught and challenged by Mr. Chater:
Chater: You insulted my wife in the gazebo yesterday evening!
Septimus: You are mistaken. I made love to your wife in the gazebo.
This duel never truly happened but caused characters to leave the estate, changing any predictable outcome. This duel from Mr. Chater was inevitable because of his undeterred love towards his wife. He is not the only man that has found love in his wife though; Captain Brice also has fallen deeply in love with Mrs. Chater. An owner of the estate, Lady Croom, also gained the affection of Septimus during the play and she speaks on Captain Brice’s obsession with Mrs. Chater when she says, “It is a defect of God's humour that he directs our hearts everywhere but to those who have a right to them” (71). Lady Croom sees the randomness of love and knows that although some variables undoubtedly are suited towards the equation of life, human emotions trump reason. She goes further when she says that although Captain Brice is aware of Mrs. Chater’s fluidity in changing her partner, he can not be deterred; “Captain Brice is not deceived but cannot help himself. He would die for her” (72). Lady Croom shows Septimus the extent that love will drive someone from reasonable thought through Captain Brice’s predicament. Septimus does not enjoy love at all but rather enjoys sex but this is simply because he had not experienced love until it was too late. At the beginning of the play, when Thomasina asks Septimus if sex is love, he states, “Oh no, it is much nicer than that” (4). This mindset changes though as he becomes very affectionate towards his pupil, Thomasina. Thomasina and Septimus share their waltzing moment at the end of the play but much more is revealed to the viewer through Hannah’s pursuit in finding out who the hermit of Sidley Park is. Septimus, following the death of his pupil and source of his affection, had no reason to go anywhere without Thomasina so he stayed in Sidley Park. Hannah discovers this mutual attraction of Septimus and Thomasina through evidence, such as Thomasina’s drawing of her tutor with Plautus, the turtle. Septimus had great plans to leave Sidley Park and these were discussed at great lengths but when his love fell upon Thomasina, he became rooted in Sidley Park when she died.