THE RAT TRAP
The Rattrap
The Rattrap summary is about a man who is a peddler. He has a pessimistic attitude towards the world. The peddler has not always been like this and was a fine man before. However, due to misfortune, he now resorts to selling rattraps, begging and even stealing to survive. Moreover, he also views the world as a big rat trap. He believes that much similar to the cheese we put for mice; the world offers us materialistic things to lure us. So, when we fall for these things, it traps us and takes everything away from us. In this story, a young generous woman takes in the rattrap seller. Thus, the generosity and kindness she shows changes his pessimistic take on life. This story teaches us about the essential human goodness we all must possess.
The story begins with a rattrap peddler who is in a rugged condition. He is dressed in rags and is very frail and looks starved. We learn he has no home and sometimes even begs and steals to survive in the world. He leads a lonely life with no one to care about him. One fine day, it strikes to him that this whole world is a rattrap itself. If we touch it, it will trap us and never let us go. He goes on to think that there are people out there who are already in this rattrap and reaching for the bait. On one cold evening, he reaches at a cottage to ask for shelter. An old crofter lived in that cottage who took in the peddler.
The crofter needed company, so he welcomes the peddler. He gives him hot food and even tobacco to smoke. They play cards and start talking. The peddler learns that the crofter got thirty kronor for selling his cow which he keeps in a pouch on the window frame. The peddler leaves the next day but after seeing the crofter leave his cottage, he comes back to steal the pouch of money.
After stealing it, he takes the woods to remain unsuspected. In the wood, the peddler meets an ironmaster who mistakes him to be his old comrade. He invites him over for Christmas, but he refuses. After that, the ironmaster’s daughter, Edla visits him and insists him to stay with them. In between, he feels sorry for stealing the crofter’s money. They help the peddler get a makeover and dress him in nice clothes and shave his beard off. After this, the ironmaster realizes he has made a mistake; the peddler was not his comrade.
Thus, the ironmaster thinks he is a fraud and decides to turn him in. However, Edla insists on letting him stay and celebrate Christmas with them. Her father agrees, and they celebrate Christmas together. Next day, the ironmaster and Edla learn that the peddler was a thief through the church about the incident at the old crofters. They head home in a hurry thinking he must have stolen all the silver. However, to their surprise, the peddler did not steal a thing. He left a note for Edla in the form a tiny rattrap. There was also a note thanking her for her kindness which saved him from the rattrap he got caught in. Most importantly, he also left the crofter’s money asking to return it to him.
Conclusion of The Rattrap
To sum up, The Rattrap summary, we learn that we can change the world through kindness and compassion; in addition, it teaches us that materialistic things never bring inner joy, only love and respect does.
The Rattrap 🐀
About the story: The story is set amidst the mines of Sweden, rich in iron ore, which figure large in the history and legends of that country. The story is told somewhat in the manner of a fairy tale.
About the Author: Selma Lagerlof was a Swedish writer and her stories have been translated into many languages. Their universal theme that runs through all her stories is the belief that the essential goodness in a human being can be awakened through understanding and love.
CHARACTERS:
• Rattrap Seller or the Peddler or
Captain Von Stahle
• A Crofter (old man)
• Helpers in the mill- blacksmiths
• Iron mill owner
• Edla Willmansson- daughter of the iron mill owner
IMPORTANCE OF THE TITLE:
"The Rattrap" is an appropriate title as it is the story of a rattrap peddler. The word Rattrap throws light on the human dilemma with respect to the functioning of the world and society. Just like a rat is fooled by the bait that and it gets trapped similarly even human beings also tend to fall into the trap of material benefits provided by the world.
The story revolves around the incident of a man getting trapped due to his greed.
Hence, the title is an apt one. Also, it is worth noticing and remarkable how the story ends with the note of "hope".
The Theme of Story:
The remarkable theme of the story is that man is inherently good by nature, and it is the material benefits or the society and the environment he lives in makes him bad.
Since the story ends on a positive note of hope, we infer that human goodness and kindness can bring about the change in the attitude of any person trapped.
CHARACTER SKETCH:
Peddler or The Rattrap or Captain Von:
1. The peddler was a poor vagabond.
2. He sold rattraps to earn his living or keep his body and soul together.
3. He also resorted to thievery when required.
4. He was struck with a dark realization that the world is itself a rattrap and all men and women are just like rats that are vulnerable to be trapped to various types of baits.
5. He was inherently not a bad person. He had some goodness in him that was irked by Edla, the iron master's elder daughter.
6. In the end, he transformed himself and returned the stolen money to the crofter through Edla loving caring and devoted family man.
Edla Willmannsson:
1. She was the oldest daughter of the iron mill owner.
2. She was not at all pretty but seemed modest and quite shy. by heart
3. Kind-hearted
4. Compassionate
5. Smart enough to understand rightly from the peddler's eyes that he might have escaped from jail or stolen something.
6. By being a good host, she actually elevated peddler's nature to that of a Captain.
7. She was a great human being.
A Crofter:
1. He was lonely and had nobody to talk to.
2. He was happy to see the peddler and gave him shelter. This gesture made the peddler feel welcomed and comfortable because he was used to seeing sour and unwelcome faces ordinarily.
3. He was generous.
4. He had been a crofter at Ramsjo Ironworks.
5. Trusted the stranger easily with his confidences.
Tom An Ironmaster (Ironworks owner):
1. The Ironmaster was the owner of the large iron factory Ramsjo Ironwork.
2. His greatest ambition was to ship out good iron in the market.
3. Hard-working and conscious of his duties as he used to go to the forge for nightly inspections.
4. He mistakes the rattrap seller as his old acquaintance and his basic instinct was to help him irrespective of his condition, which shows that just like his daughter even he was kind-hearted and helpful. He took him to his own house and cared for him.