Arthur's Patterns Of Karmic Justice In Station Eleven

Betrayal requires a certain degree of trust. Arthur, the Prophet, and Kirsten each sever their relationships with people or groups with whom they shared a connection. The latter two are catalyzed by the first, whose crime was not so much in his purposeful actions, but in his end. After breaking promises and spoiling intimacy, the three set a pattern of karmic justice in Station Eleven. In the infant stages of his acting career, Arthur is virgin. Optimistic and determined, citing the city as the feeling of freedom, he is everything of youth. But thirty years later Arthur is bitter, tired, and wary of the very same public eye that thrust him into fame. All that he loves (the stage, his three ex-wives, his son) he abandons. He is equal parts unreliable and insincere. Thus it seems fitting that in his final moments
From Clark’s observations, he seems intelligent and sympathetic as he reads scripture to the dead passengers. It is likely, also, that he can be charming and persuasive, since, in the beginning of his Prophetism, he probably could not use fear and violence as one man against many. However, he uses these qualities not to inspire and bring hope to defeated survivors, but to trap others into following his vision. Kirsten observes the Prophet’s coercion and notes of one of his followers that, “he was afraid, and the realization carried such sadness. I never wanted any of this.” (299) There is some satisfaction in this portrait, for it is this same, terrified boy that kills Tyler. The Prophet’s responsibilities as a leader, especially to his young followers, had been abandoned for power and influence. The credit which they may have naively assigned him, as children often do with authoritative adults, died along with each of their victims. This abuse of power and the betrayal to his followers exist on so grand a scale that they incite murder. Tyler’s death is a direct consequence of his actions, and his life is ended