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> まる子のタコ風船は、七夕飾りのとがった部分にさわってしまい、ものすごい音ではぜてしまったのだ **から運命とはわからない** 。  
>  Maruko's octopus balloon ended up touching a sharp part of a Tanabata
> decoration and burst with a tremendous sound, so ????

I'm confused about 運命とはわからない. I thought とは was used when giving a definition.
So this would be "..so Maruko doesn't understand (the definition/meaning of)
fate".

I think this translation must be wrong because I don't see how it can be a
consequence (から) of the events described.
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particle-と reading-comprehension
Meaning of 運命とはわからない
> ～ _だ_ から

because ～

(Semantically speaking, saying 運命とはわからない when you merely bursting a balloon a
bit overblown, it seems to me.)

> 運命とはわからない

運命 is the subject of 分からない and the whole sentence. The と before the は denotes
something like というもの.
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goo国語辞書 says:

> ###
> [とは](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/159809/meaning/m0u/%E3%81%A8%E3%81%AF/)
>
>   2. 定義・ **命題** などの主題であることを示す。…というものは。「友情とは、かけがえのないものだ」
>

So とは is not limited to giving a definition, but it can also be used to
present a general expected feature of something. ("～ is always ～", "～ is
supposed to ～")

Some examples from BCCWJ:

>   * 結婚とはするものだし、両親や親戚も彼女に結婚しろと言っている。  
>  (Marriage is something you (are expected to) do)
>   * 女とは恐ろしいものだ。天性のうそつきの化けものだ、と平太郎は痛嘆した。  
>  (Women are horrible beings)
>   * おぬしもまた、朝鮮へ明へ呂宋へ、その彼方の国々へ兵を挙げるだろう。力とはそういうものだからだ。  
>  (That's what power is (supposed to mean))
>
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Here わからない doesn't mean "someone is not able to understand" but works as if an
adjective that means "not understandable". So the translation would be like,

> 運命とはわからない  
>  _(What) the fate (is) is inexplicable_

This usage is but an extension of perhaps more familiar wordings as follows:

> 大切なことは目に見えない _what is essential is invisible to the eye_
>
> 経済に与える影響は無視できない _the impact to economy is considerable (not negligible)_

Also, `[story] のだから [comment]` is an idiomatic(?) construction that
effectively expresses the nuance of " _[story]_ , which explains how
_[comment]_ " or "considering _[story]_ , it is indeed _[comment]_ ".
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