Looking at the structure and narrative approach of Margaret Drabble's novels, it is clear that her interest in determinism, free will, heredity, upbringing and accident have caused her novels to include significant amounts of retrospective narrative, accidents and coincidences, and explanatory narrative interventions. As she says, within the novels and in life, there is conflict:

but she admits that she doesn't use the word ‘fate’ with any constant meaning.

In the novels, the narrative presents the interplay of these concerns and shows the shifting balance between them, by depicting characters determined by their genetic legacy, their upbringing, trying to exert their will, and afflicted by accidents. Drabble pays attention to the effects of family, in terms of heritage and upbringing, and, as she says, tends to do this by looking back at the past rather than proceeding step by step, chronologically from childhood to adulthood. This means that the reminiscences of the past can be introduced either where the implied author thinks convenient, or as part of the characters’ own discovery of themselves. This is especially significant when a character looks back into the past and discovers memories which have been repressed, never thought about for many years.

The arrangement of past material, including explanations of upbringing and other influences, and of challenging accidents, results in the shape of the plot.