The Fates are three women who control the lives of everyone, from birth all the way to death. When Percy sees them, they take the form of three old women knitting humongous socks by the roadside. Percy sees them cut one of their strands of yarn, with freaks Grover out—this gesture means that someone is going to die.
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The Old Ladies/The Fates Character Timeline in The Lightning Thief
The timeline below shows where the character The Old Ladies/The Fates appears in The Lightning Thief. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...over and everyone files out. Across the highway is a fruit stand manned by three old ladies knitting a massive pair of socks. They seem to be looking at Percy. Grover turns...
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...journey. Grover looks ill and asks Percy what he saw. Percy says he saw one lady cut the yarn. He can tell this is a big deal. Grover says the woman...
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Chapter 3
...that scared him, but Percy doesn’t want to tell her about Mrs. Dodds or the old ladies and risk sounding stupid. Mom purses her lips, but then she announces that they’re going...
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...things that have happened to him at every school. He knows he should mention the old ladies and Mrs. Dodds, but he suspects it’ll end their trip. Mom says that Percy’s dad...
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...“it” is right behind him. Percy is in shock, and he mutters something about the old ladies and Mrs. Dodds. Mom grabs her keys and tells the boys to get in the...
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Chapter 4
...some old ladies cut yarn, but Grover says that the ladies they saw were the Fates—and they only appear when someone is about to die. The boys argue about whether Grover...
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