WHITHER?
Definition
The word whither is an adverb. When used as a question, it asks to what place or destination something is going. Whither goest thou? is asking about your goals, either locational or social. The expression is also “old English” likewise not much used anymore, but the query is still common enough. People want to know not only who you are, but the objectives you have as you journey amongst them – have another story ready. Hence, the parameter whither runs from destination to goal.
Purpose
The intention of this question? The expectation often is that wherever you are going explains the route you are taking and the way you “carry yourself”. Whither you are going can give you a reason for the steps you take to get there, but there are usually other roads to Rome too, so you do not have to be committed to a particular path to get there. Often people prefer the passageway as well as the destination.
Explication
Some people put great store by the intentions for their futures. Where they plan to be, what they plan to do, the results they expect to achieve, the benefits they hope to enjoy, the detriments they wish to avoid – all this, and more, supposedly indicates the kind of person you are and how things will turn out. What this reasoning overlooks however, is the role of luck, or fate (or whatever you chose to call it) in the outcome.
Implication
Some of the people who enquire about whither thou goest? may simply be looking for someone to share the road with – if you have similar objectives or destinations, perhaps you would like their company? Others however, may be trying to divert you, on a detour or a u-turn, to an entirely different destination, or no destination at all. On looking back, people often recall small steps that lead to major divergences from their intentions.
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