"The Queen of Spades": A Story of Chance and Human Fate
...n the text and risk everything. Lisaveta Ivanovna takes a gamble in the story and invites Hermann to come visit her in the middle of the night despite what her conscious tells her. Perhaps she does this hoping that it will change her fate. She is stuck in a life of servitude to a senile old woman with no end in sight. Why wouldn’t she want to take a gamble if it will bring her happiness? Hermann could be the man of her dreams who has come to free her from the old Countess. The lesson that we can learn from Lisaveta is that people can not be afraid to take a chance. Things will never change if you don’t take a gamble every now and then. Obviously the character Hermann literally gambles in the story, but he also takes a gamble in his life. He is so set on changing his fate and becoming a rich man that he will do whatever it takes....