In an example of foreshadowing, the Soul asks the Fisherman before they part ways if the Fisherman would give him his heart, as he’s worried about the effects of being without one:
And his Soul said to him, “If indeed thou must drive me from thee, send me not forth without a heart. The world is cruel, give me thy heart to take with me.”
He tossed his head and smiled. “With what should I love my love if I gave thee my heart?” he cried.
“Nay, but be merciful,” said his Soul: “give me thy heart, for the world is very cruel, and I am afraid.”
This is an example of foreshadowing because, as becomes clear later in the story, the Soul was right to be “afraid” of what would happen to him out in the “cruel” world. Rather than staying in his pure state, the Soul becomes corrupted over the course of his three years of separation from the Fisherman, coming to find joy in cruel acts. As the Soul explains to the Fisherman in the latter half of the story, “When thou didst send me forth into the world thou gavest me no heart, so I learned to do all these things and love them.” Ultimately, the Soul was correct in his assessment that the world can easily corrupt those without access to love.
