Witchlings

Names serve as a motif of the theme of Self-Discovery in the Face of Adversity. In Chapter 1, the author establishes that the characters’ names are clues to their destinies: “In their world, the Twelve Towns, a child’s name was a prophecy” (3). Just as Seven struggles to find her place in the world, she doesn’t understand the significance of her name for much of the book. The protagonist and her fellow Witchlings discover the meaning behind their names during their battle against the Nightbeast and the Cursed Toads, the most dangerous challenge they face in the book. For example, the climactic fight takes place in Crow’s Head Valley, which means that “Valley’s name had been the answer all along” to the question of where they would find the Nightbeast (291). Thorn’s name comes from the “cage of thorns” she uses to trap the monster (314). The Nightbeast killed her brother, and fighting the monster forces her to confront her fear and grief over Petal’s death. Seven discovers that her name refers to “the number of witches who defeated” the Nightbeast—Seven, Thorn, Valley, Fox, Talisman, Beefy, and the Gran (318). Seven, Thorn, and Valley discover the meaning of their names when they achieve their Impossible Task, supporting Ortega’s message that self-discovery comes through facing adversity.