“If I found lots of gold, then maybe no one would laugh at me or make fun of my name. Gold would make me worth something.”

This quotation encapsulates the protagonist’s motivation, social status, and self-image at the start of the novel. As the laughingstock of his impoverished village, Rump has low self-worth and sees gold as the answer to his problems. His wish comes true when he discovers his ability to spin straw into gold, but the gold he longed for only adds to his problems. Ultimately, Rump realizes that he possesses inherent worth and does not need to seek it in external things.

“‘You’ll find it all.’ ‘What all?’ ‘Your name. All of it.’ ‘I will?’ Red’s granny suddenly looked very wise and maybe even less crouched and wrinkly. ‘Not before you cause a heap of trouble, though. And you have to find your destiny first.’ ‘But I thought my name was my destiny.’ ‘No, no, other way around. Find your destiny, you find your name. It’s right under your feet.’”

The prophecy of the Witch of the Woods is full of foreshadowing. Her prediction that Rump will “cause a heap of trouble” proves true when his spinning entangles him, Opal, and Red in the miller’s and the king’s greedy plots. In addition, this passage develops the theme of Fighting Fate by changing the way that Rump thinks about names and destiny. Over the course of the novel, remembering the witch’s words gives Rump hope that he can find his name and change his fate.