Fate has it

Fate or Free will? The age old question that continues to haunt human kind: are we in charge of our own destinies? Some like to believe that the choices we make are our own, that nothing but time itself will tell us where we end up. And yet some like to believe that their path is chosen out for them, that no matter what we do the pieces are set and they will fall into their selected places.
In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the entire colony is enamored with the idea of Predestination. A concept that decrees that from the second you are born you are either doomed or saved. This is their fatal flaw. (There is a reason that Puritans are all but extinct.) It holds them back and prevents them from accepting changes that occur in the world. Chillingworth, a once noble man, is turned hideous and deformed by his thirst for revenge. "It has all been a dark necessity...It is our fate. Let the black flower blossom as it may." (Hawthorne 171). His idea of fate hinders him from moving forward with his life. Chillingworth  may believe that it is his fate to die a horrible man or he might be using it as a cover, a excuse for his misdemeanors. Admittedly, fate can also lead us to do good things. How many times have heroes followed their "destinies" to that ever perfect happily ever after. It gives some men hope and a reason to believe even if there isn't one.
Whether good or bad, believing in a destiny prevents us from taking responsibility for our actions. If we think "it was bound to happen anyways" then we lose the ability to change it. Hester can't move on with her life because she is tied down by her fate, or her preconceived notion of her fate. She accepts the role in life given to her instead of moving on and out of Boston.

 In the end, it doesn't matter if we have fate or free will. It matters if we believe that we have the
power to make our decisions and craft our own futures. It's important that we consciously make the decisions that impact our surroundings. It's like the saying, "If it's meant to be, then it will happen." It prevents you from fighting for what you want. It's giving up the steering wheel to be a backseat passenger on your own life. We have to believe we have free will because otherwise we let life take control of us, instead of the other way around. Essentially fate, or the idea of fate, restricts us from being aware of our capabilities.  Giving into a fate is like boxing yourself in a preconceived notion of what you think you can do. We must act as if every decision could change our lives or we cease to live.