What do you think of Beethoven's Fifth being nicknamed "Fate"?

Primarily, was the nickname "Fate" given by Beethoven or somebody
else? I think that it's a tad gleeful for being just Fate knocking at
the door. I mean, yeah, you can sure hear the knocking, and there are
definitely big, imposing voices, but most of the symphony is pretty
optomistic.

As for the first movement, I think it sounds more like a story than
just one picture; it's like a story of a person bargaining with Fate,
trying to trick him out of giving the person their, well, fate. It's
almost like the person is offering Fate something, and Fate almost
gives in, but then changes his mind, and it continues like this for a
bit until finally, Fate realizes what's going on and deals out what
the person deserves for being a trickster.
But then the second movement is pretty darn happy. There are a few
little wavers in the glee, like there's something sinister out in the
hills, but then it always continues to sing like a girl dancing
through a field of flowers, occasionally coming across a huge wonder
like a valley, or maybe she's even finding Fate himself, and her
innocence assures her a happy future. Or, perhaps, it's about the life
of an honest person who faces Fate every once in a while in one shape
or another, but always comes out a better person. Each choice they
make in life changes their personality a little bit, until finally,
they meet Fate himself head-on and gracefully allow him to lead them
to their destiny.
The third movement sounds to me like Beethoven himself in his struggle
against Fate, sometimes getting the upper hand and sometimes getting
his butt kicked. Just like Beethoven's life, the movement is imperfect
in the sense that it's not all happy, and there are some minor
undertones at times, but the movement is overall triumphant. The first
development is awesome, it sounds like Beethoven plotting his next
move after some pitfall of life, and then-a point to Beethoven! He
bests Fate like no other. But ooh, Fate's not about to let that fly.
Something starts hitting a minor chord, and it becomes like Tug-Of-War
between Beethoven and Fate, until everything cools down for a bit as
Fate takes his turn to plot, and it returns to Tug-Of-War as Beethoven
and Fate begin to come to terms. There's an enormous amount of
defiance near the end, and then there's a conversation between the
two, which results in Beethoven's battle with the illness that
incapacitated him. Finally, Beethoven dies triumphant, with his fist
raised to a stormy sky and he meets Fate as an old friend. (I know
that Beethoven couldn't have known about that last part, but that's
just how I hear it :])

If you read all that, congratulations XD How do you hear it? Do you
agree with the idea of it being about Fate at all, or do you hear
something different? It's such a gorgeous symphony; it's one of those
that's grossly overplayed yet still retains all of its meaning :)