The Bridge of San Luis Rey : The motifs of accident and intention in Thornton Wilder's novel

This thesis examines the possible accidental and intentional elements provided by the writer which can be related to the later tragic ending of the five characters' life. I will show through the detailed examination that the common feature of the five lives is the unfulfilled and self-consuming love which is much more tragic than the collapse of the bridge. It will become clear that Wilder does not intend to answer the main question of the book, whether their death is an accident or the part of a superior plan - and this is not the aim of the thesis either. The conclusion is that the events of our life can be attributed either to accident or to intention; it depends on the given personality. The only thing that counts is to love for love's sake without expecting any response; this love is that connects the living and the dead.