--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She had not meant to name them, but she…" description: "\"“She had not meant to name them, but she could not help herself; and having done so she thought, Let their names be symbols that their lives are worth ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/200/robin-mckinley-1591_fairy-tales_she-had-not-meant-to-name-them-but-she-c_2151081.jpg" --- # She had not meant to name them, but she could not help… ![“She had not meant to name them, but she could not help herself; and having done so she thought, Let their names be symbols that their lives are worth the keeping. Let them struggle a little the harder, to keep their names.” quote by Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/200/robin-mckinley-1591_fairy-tales_she-had-not-meant-to-name-them-but-she-c_2151081.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/200/robin-mckinley-1591_fairy-tales_she-had-not-meant-to-name-them-but-she-c_2151081.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/200/robin-mckinley-1591_fairy-tales_she-had-not-meant-to-name-them-but-she-c_2151081.jpg) > ““She had not meant to name them, but she could not help herself; and having done so she thought, Let their names be symbols that their lives are worth the keeping. Let them struggle a little the harder, to keep their names.”” [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She assigns names to give value and challenge, believing that naming makes lives worth preserving and struggles more meaningful. **In simple terms:** Naming gives worth and encourages effort. Key Takeaway Give importance to names to inspire perseverance. Themes identity value struggle naming meaning Mood reflective inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal growth - education - team building - storytelling - legacy planning Key Concepts symbolism psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - How does naming influence your perception of importance? - Can a name become a burden? A Different Perspective Names alone don’t guarantee worth; external pressures may diminish intrinsic value. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fairy tales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairy-tales/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Let Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-names-2979029/) [Let Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-struggle-1275309/) [Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names/) [Retelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retelling/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Symbols Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symbols-lives-608132/) ## Related quotes > [“So let that voice be untamed Let it cry and let some names be named We'll be wired with the force of a wave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aztec-camera/so-let-that-voice-be-untamed-let-it-cry-and-let-some-names-be-named/) [Aztec Camera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aztec-camera/) > [“We write, edit, and rewrite the story of our own life employing descriptive words, metaphors, and symbols. 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There's a Mad Hatter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-avett/mrs-pott-s-beady-black-eyes-narrowed-do-you-know-how-many-glass/) [Sophie Avett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-avett/) > [After I’d told her – the mall, the taxi, Cross stroking my hair – she said, ‘Did he kiss you?’ ‘John and Martin totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/after-i-d-told-her-the-mall-the-taxi-cross-stroking-my-hair-she-said/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) ## More by Robin McKinley > [It's hard to look too grand when you're led by someone who looks like a pudding with legs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/it-s-hard-to-look-too-grand-when-you-re-led-by-someone-who-looks-like/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [“The most serious drawback to the telling-nothing approach is that it made that much more of a mystery of what had happened, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/the-most-serious-drawback-to-the-telling-nothing-approach-is-that-it/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [The magic in that country was so thick and tenacious that it settled over the land like chalk-dust and over floors and shelves like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/the-magic-in-that-country-was-so-thick-and-tenacious-that-it-settled/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [“There was something very odd about the carpet this morning… More hedgehogs? 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"I am sorry, you ugly creature,"… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/the-sheep-sidled-up-beside-him-and-bumped-him-lovingly-with-its-head/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [I long for another human face just as I fear it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/i-long-for-another-human-face-just-as-i-fear-it/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [“Rosie hated her curly golden hair. When she was old enough to hold minimal conversations, the itsy-bitsy-cutesycoo sort of grown-ups would pull the soft…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/rosie-hated-her-curly-golden-hair-when-she-was-old-enough-to-hold/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [“There was, too, a reality to her new life that her old life had lacked, and she realized with a shock that she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/there-was-too-a-reality-to-her-new-life-that-her-old-life-had-lacked/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [Oh,' she said, too bone-weary to pretend: 'I would far rather that I love you as I saw yesterday I do than that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/oh-she-said-too-bone-weary-to-pretend-i-would-far-rather-that-i-love/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [But I'm going to try to tell the truth. Except for the parts I'm leaving out, because there's still stuff I'm just not going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/but-i-m-going-to-try-to-tell-the-truth-except-for-the-parts-i-m/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [“The magic in that country was so thick and tenacious that it settled over the land like chalk-dust and over floors and shelves like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/the-magic-in-that-country-was-so-thick-and-tenacious-that-it-settled-2/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [Roses are for love. Not silly sweet-hearts' love but the love that makes you and keeps you whole, love that gets you through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/roses-are-for-love-not-silly-sweet-hearts-love-but-the-love-that/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) [Explore all 225 Robin McKinley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) ## More Fairy tales quotes > [“From that time on they both looked forward to sleeping together. I might even say that the goal of their lovemaking was not so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/from-that-time-on-they-both-looked-forward-to-sleeping-together-i/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“Once upon a time, there was a naïve and innocent girl who thought she could tame the beast and live happily ever after. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-na-ve-and-innocent-girl-who-thought-she/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [I have always been fascinated by the supernatural elements in stories, whether fairy tales, myths, film or literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/i-have-always-been-fascinated-by-the-supernatural-elements-in-stories/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) > [“If this were a fairy tale, this would be the part where the fishboy appears and Diana shoots him through the heart. Because he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-moskowitz/if-this-were-a-fairy-tale-this-would-be-the-part-where-the-fishboy/) [Hannah Moskowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-moskowitz/) > [“Yes sir, the fish was left in place of the crystal ball. It's been bagged and tagged for analysis.” Great. Now we have another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-f-stewart/yes-sir-the-fish-was-left-in-place-of-the-crystal-ball-it-s-been/) [A.F. Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-f-stewart/) > [Here is the world of imagination, hopes, and dreams. In this timeless land of enchantment, the age of chivalry, magic and make-believe are reborn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/here-is-the-world-of-imagination-hopes-and-dreams-in-this-timeless/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Look at Jane Austen. Her characters derive in a reasonably straight line from fairy tales.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davies/look-at-jane-austen-her-characters-derive-in-a-reasonably-straight/) [Andrew Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davies/) > [Letters crossing in the post, unfamiliar tunes heard three times in one day, the way that blows of fate descend upon the same bowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/letters-crossing-in-the-post-unfamiliar-tunes-heard-three-times-in/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [“What the Boy chiefly dabbled in was natural history and fairy tales, and he just took them as they came, in a sandwichy sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-grahame/what-the-boy-chiefly-dabbled-in-was-natural-history-and-fairy-tales/) [Kenneth Grahame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-grahame/) > [I grew up watching monster movies and horror movies, which I felt were like fairy tales and I think this always spoke to me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-burton/i-grew-up-watching-monster-movies-and-horror-movies-which-i-felt-were/) [Tim Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-burton/) > [Here about the beach I wandered, nourishing a youth sublime With the fairy tales of science, and the long result of Time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/here-about-the-beach-i-wandered-nourishing-a-youth-sublime-with-the/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [“I've been very influenced by folklore, fairy tales, and folk ballads, so I love all the classic works based on these things -- like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/i-ve-been-very-influenced-by-folklore-fairy-tales-and-folk-ballads-so/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fairy-tales-are-more-than-true-not-because-they-tell-us-that-dragons/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Once I thought fairy tales were lies or worse promises spoken yet meant to be broken intent is all. 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