"I am Gimpel the fool. I don’t think myself a fool. On the contrary. But that’s what folks call me" (994).
These are the opening lines of the story. Here, Gimpel establishes the story's central tension: that between the town of Frampol and Gimpel himself. The townspeople believe that, because of his trusting nature, Gimpel is foolish. Gimpel, however, perceives the world differently and comes to recognize that he is only determined to be a "fool" to provide entertainment to everyone else.
"It is written, better to be a fool all your days than for one hour to be evil. You are not a fool. They are the fools. For he who causes his neighbor to feel shame loses Paradise himself" (995).
When Gimpel was young, he went and sought the advice of the rabbi in Frampol. The rabbi provides a comforting allusion to the bible in order to assure Gimpel that he must refrain from acts of vengeance or anger. However, the rabbi's encouraging words are immediately upended when Gimpel leaves the rabbinical court. There, the rabbi's daughter tricks Gimpel into kissing the wall, saying it is the proper way to worship. She laughs at him for believing her, thereby dissolving the wisdom the rabbi had given him minutes earlier.
"That was how it was; they argued me dumb. But then, who really knows how such things are?" (997).
Here, Gimpel refers to the arguments from his wife, Elka, and the schoolmaster, both of whom attempt to convince Gimpel that it is possible for a baby to be born five months prematurely. Gimpel does not actually believe his wife's claims, knowing her to be an adulterer. However, his rhetorical question suggests that he chooses the path of "foolishness" in order to preserve himself, resigning himself to the belief that nobody can know the truth about anything.
"A longing took me, for her and for the child. I wanted to be angry, but that's my misfortune exactly, I don't have it in me to be really angry" (999).
After Gimpel is instructed by the rabbi to stay away from Elka and the children, he finds it difficult to be alone. He admits here that he missed them, despite Elka's infidelity, and that it is not in his nature to be vengeful, nor even to experience anger. Here, Gimpel showcases why so many people determine that he is foolish – he is neither bitter nor resentful toward those who harm him – and suggests that harboring those emotions only leads to unhappiness.
"...the longer I lived the more I understood that there were really no lies. Whatever doesn't really happen is dreamed at night" (1002).
When Gimpel leaves Frampol, he grows old while traveling the world as a storytelling beggar. Here, he expresses his intent to fully embrace the concept of "foolishness" not as a derogatory concept but rather as a way of opening oneself up to possibility. Fiction, he finds, is only one step removed from the truth, and in his old age, he encourages those around him to think with more creativity and imagination.
"Whatever may be there, it will be real, without complications, without ridicule, without deception. God be praised: there even Gimpel cannot be deceived" (1003).
These are the final lines of the story. Here, Gimpel refers to death as the ultimate – and only – truth. While the living world is fraught with unknowability and cruelty, death for Gimpel signifies the final revelation of what is real. Until then, he is content to live among falsehoods and fictions.
