The
Rattrap
By Selma
Lagerlof
Theme
The story is about an old disheartened peddler who
is taken in and shown generosity by a young woman. Her generosity and kindness
change his bitter attitude towards life. The peddler is a man who has fallen
upon misfortune and now resorts to selling rattraps, begging, and thievery. He
is very pessimistic about the world around him and sees the world as merely a
"rat trap". He believes that society tempts us with riches and fine
things, and when we accept, we are caught in the trap and are left with
nothing.
The story conveys a universal message that the
essential goodness in a human being can be awakened through love, respect,
kindness and understanding. It highlights the human predicament. Material
benefits are the traps that most human beings are prone to fall into. Human
beings do have a tendency to redeem themselves from dishonest ways as does the
peddler at the end of the story.
Setting
This story is set amidst the mines of Sweden,
rich in iron ore which figure large in the history of that country. The story
is told somewhat in the manner of a fairy tale.
Characters
1. A peddlar with rattraps.
2. An Oldman: A crofter
3. Master Smith in the Ramsjo Iron Mill
in Sweden
4. Helpers in the Mill: blacksmiths
5. Iron mill owner
6. Edla Willmansson – daughter of the
Iron Mill owner.
Summary
in detail
A rattrap peddler went around selling small
rattraps. His clothes were in rags. His cheeks were hollow. He had the look of
a starved man. He made wire traps. He begged the material from stores and big
farms. Sometimes he resorted to begging and a little stealing to survive. The
world had never been kind to him. He had no home, no shelter.
The peddler led a lonely life. One day while he
was thinking about his rattraps, an idea struck him. He thought that the world
itself was a rattrap. As soon as anybody touched it, the trap closed on them.
He was amused to think of some people who were already trapped, and some others
who were trying to reach the bait in the trap.
It was a cold evening in December. He reached a
cottage on the roadside. He knocked at the door and asked for a night’s
shelter. The owner of the cottage was a lonely old crofter. He wanted someone
to talk to. He welcomed the peddler. He gave the peddler hot porridge to eat,
and tobacco to smoke. Then they played cards. The crofter was generous as well
as trustful. He told the peddler that he had a cow and sold her milk to a
creamery. He also told him that he received thirty kronors as payment the
previous month. Then he took down a pouch and showed him the money. Then he put
the money back in the pouch and hung it on a nail in the window frame. Next
morning the peddler left. The crofter locked his cottage, and went away.
The peddler came back to the cottage. He had
been tempted to steal the money that hung like a bait in the window frame. He
smashed the pane and stole the money. Now he thought it was not safe to walk
along the public highway. So he went into the woods. There he walked and walked
but could not get out. He moved in circles. He was tired. He looked upon the
forest as a rattrap in which he was caught. He thought his end was near. He lay
down to die.
After a while he heard regular thumping of a
hammer’s strokes. He knew the sound was coming from Ramsjo Ironworks. He stood
up and walked in the direction of the sound. He opened the gate of the ironworks
and went into the forge. The owner came on his nightly rounds and noticed the
ragged wretch near the furnace. The ironmaster looked intently at the peddler’s
face. He felt sure that the peddler was one of his old regimental comrades,
Captain von Stable who had fallen on evil days. He invited the peddler to go
home with him for Christmas. But the peddler was alarmed. He thought it was
risky for him to accept the offer. He firmly declined it. The ironmaster went
home.
The ironmaster sent his daughter Edla to
persuade the peddler to come home. She spoke gently to him. The peddler felt
confidence in her and agreed to go with her. On the way he was sorry to have
stolen the crofter’s money that had put him in a trap.
The ironmaster was happy to have his old
regimental comrade under his roof. He planned to feed him well and give him
some respectable work. The servant cut the peddler’s hair, shaved him ad bathed
him. The peddler appeared wearing one of the ironmaster’s fine suits. But
when the ironmaster looked at him in daylight, he felt that he had made a
mistake. The peddler was not captain von Stable. He thought that the man had
deceived him. He even thought of handing him to the sheriff.
The peddler said that he had not pretended to
be what he was not. He had not been willing to go to the ironmaster’s house.
Even then he was willing to put on his rags and leave. He also told the ironmaster
that the world was a rattrap, and he himself might one day be tempted by a big
bait and get caught in the trap. The ironmaster told him to leave at once.
Edla did not like her father’s asking the poor
peddler to leave. She thought it was unfair to turn away the man whom they had
invited. She wanted to have the joy of entertaining a homeless wanderer on
Christmas Eve. She stopped the peddler and her father agreed to it.
Edla served food to the peddler. He was given
Christmas presents which he thankfully received. Edla told him that her
father’s suit that the peddler was wearing was also a Christmas present. She
assured him that he would be welcomed again if he liked to spend the next
Christmas Eve with them.
Next morning the ironmaster and his daughter
went to church. There they learned that the peddler was a thief. He had robbed
the crofter. The ironmaster was sure that the peddler must have made away with
their silver. Edla was dejected. But when they reached home they learned that
the peddler had left. But he had taken away nothing. On the other hand he had
left a Christmas present for Edla.
Edla opened the present. It was a tiny rattrap.
Edla was happy to see that the peddler had left the crofter’s money behind.
There was a letter also. It was addressed to Edla. He thanked her for her
kindness. He wanted to repay her kindness. So he had left the crofter’s money
and had requested her to return it to the crofter. He said he had been raised
to captain. That was why he could come out of the rattrap in which he had been
caught. He signed the letter Captain von Stable.
Main
points
1. ‘The Rattrap’ is a story that underlies a
belief that essential goodness in human beings can be aroused through sympathy,
understanding and love.
2. Once a man went around selling small
rattraps but he took to begging and thievery to keep his body and soul
together.
3. One day he was struck with the idea – the whole
world is a big rattrap and it offers riches as bait.
4. People let themselves be tempted to touch
the bait then it closes in on them bringing an end to everything.
5. One dark evening the rattrap peddler sought
shelter in an old crofter’s roadside cottage.
6. The old man gave him food, tobacco they
enjoyed the card game too.
7. Next morning the peddler stole away his
thirty kroners.
8. The rattrap peddler escaped into a big
confusing forest and got lost.
9. While resting on the ground he recollected
his idea that the world is a rattrap and thought his end was near.
10. Hearing a thumping sound he reached Ramsjo
ironworks for a night shelter.
11. The owner came on his nightly rounds and
noticed the ragged wretch near the furnace.
12. He took him as an old acquaintance ‘Nils
Olof.’
13. He invited him to stay with them for
Christmas but the stranger declined the offer.
14. His daughter Edla Willmansson persuaded to
go home with him.
15. She requested him to stay for Christmas Eve
only.
16. On his way to the Manor House the peddler
thought that he had thrown himself into the lion’s den.
17. The next day in broad day light the iron
master realized the stranger was not captain and threatened to call the
sheriff.
18. Edla pleaded for him and asked him to stay
back.
19. Christmas Eve at Ramsjo was as usual and
the stranger slept and slept.
20. She made him understand that if he wanted
rest and peace he would be welcome next Christmas also. This had a miraculous
effect on him.
21. Next morning they went for early church
service leaving behind the guest who was asleep.
22. They learnt at church that a rattrap
peddler had robbed an old crofter.
23. Edla becomes very upset.
24. They reach home immediately and learn that
the peddler had already left but had not taken anything at all with him.
Instead, he had left a small packet for the young girl as a Christmas present.
25. She opens the packet and finds a rattrap,
three wrinkled ten-Kronor notes and also a letter with a request to return the
Kroners to the crofter.
Short
Answer Type Questions
Q1. From
where did the peddler get the idea of the world being a rattrap?
Ans. The peddler went
around selling rattraps that he had made himself from wire he had begged or
stolen. One day the thought occurred to him that the world was very much like a
rattrap which offered men shelter, food, clothing and other comforts for entrapping
them.
Q2. What was the peddler’s philosophy about rattrap? Why did
it amuse him?
Ans. The peddler’s philosophy was that the
whole world is a rattrap with several baits in it. As one is tempted to bait
and touches it, the door is closed and everything comes to an end like in a
rattrap. The thought amused him because he has so far been selling rattrap; but
not fallen in this world’s rattrap.
Q3. What kind of host was the old crofter?
Ans. The old crofter was an affectionate and
generous host. He warmly welcomed the peddler as he got someone to talk to in
his loneliness. He served him porridge for his supper and offered a pipe with
tobacco roll to smoke and finally played with him Mjolis till bedtime.
Q4. The reader’s sympathy is with the peddler right from the
beginning? Is it justified? Give reasons.
Ans. The rattrap peddler draws reader’s
sympathy because of his poverty. The author’s description of his clothes and
appearance like –“his clothes are in rags, his cheeks are sunken and hunger
gleams his eyes” and his resorting to begging and petty thievery to keep his
body and soul together evoke reader’s sympathy.
Q5. Who do you think was at fault-the ironmaster or the
peddler? Give two reasons.
Ans. I think the ironmaster was at fault
because it was he who invited the tramp to his house for the Christmas thinking
him to be his old acquaintance; but on knowing he was not his acquaintance, he
could not oppose his daughter’s decision to offer him Christmas cheer.
Q6. Why was the peddler grateful to the ironmaster and his
daughter?
Ans. The peddler was grateful to the
ironmaster and his daughter as they empowered him to release himself from the
world’s rattrap through their selfless hospitality, love, sympathy, compassion,
and understanding.
Q7.
Did the peddler expect the kind of hospitality that he received from the
crofter?
Ans. The peddler was surprised that the crofter
not only invited him into his cottage but also shared his porridge with him. He
also talked to him, played cards with him and shared confidences with him.
Q8. Why
was the crofter so talkative and friendly with the peddler?
Ans. The crofter was alone,
and had no wife or child and was perhaps lonely. Therefore he became happy to
get someone to talk to in his loneliness.
Q9. Why did
he show the thirty kroner to the peddler?
Ans. The crofter told the
peddler that he was comfortable and had earned a reasonable sum of money from
his extraordinary cow that gave a lot of milk and he had earned thirty kroner
last month. The peddler expressed disbelief and thus the crofter showed him the
money.
Q10. Did
the peddler respect the confidence reposed in him by the crofter?
Ans. The peddler abused the trust reposed in him by the
crofter because as soon as he could, he came back, opened the window of the cottage and stole
the crofter’s hard-earned money.
Q11. What
made the peddler think that he had indeed fallen into a rattrap?
Ans. Having stolen the
crofter’s money, the peddler was forced to stay off the road and walk in the
forest. When night fell, he could not see where he was headed to and seemed to
be walking round and round the same spot. He was tired and in his frustration
felt that he was caught in the trap.
Q12. Why
did the ironmaster speak kindly to the peddler and invite him home?
Ans. The ironmaster mistook
the peddler to be an old acquaintance, Nils Olof, a comrade from the regiment.
It appeared to the ironmaster that the man had fallen on bad days and so he
invited him to his home, especially as it was Christmas time.
Q13. Why
did the peddler decline the invitation?
Ans. The peddler declined
his invitation, as he was afraid of being detected as the thief. He felt that
by accepting the invitation to go to the ironmaster’s house, he was voluntarily
walking into the lion’s den.
Q14. What
made the peddler accept Edla Willmansson’s invitation?
Ans. Edla Willmansson came
to invite the peddler. She requested him to come home with such an apparent and
genuine kindness that the peddler could not refuse. She instilled a certain
confidence in him.
Q15. What
doubts did Edla have about the peddler?
Ans. Edla noticed that the peddler was afraid
and she at once concluded that he was either a thief or had escaped from jail.
She told her father that it was strange that his regimental comrade had fallen
on such bad days and also that he had nothing about him to show that he had
once been an educated man.
Q16. When
did the ironmaster realise his mistake?
Ans. The ironmaster had first seen the tramp in
the dim glow of the furnace. He had taken him to be his old regimental comrade,
but when the tramp had come down cleanly shaven and dressed in a borrowed suit
of the master, the ironmaster at once realized that it had been a case of
mistaken identity. He had taken the tramp to be his old regimental comrade.
Q17. What
did the peddler say in his defence when it was clear that he was not the person
the ironmaster had thought he was?
Ans. The peddler pleaded that it was not his
fault. He had never pretended to be anything but only a poor trader. He only
begged that he should be allowed to stay for the night near the forge. Since he
had done them no harm, so he was ready to put on his old rags again and would
leave at once.
Q18. Why
did Edla still entertain the peddler even after she knew the truth about him?
Ans. Edla was a kind woman
at heart and understood how difficult the peddler’s life had been. She realized
how hard it must have been for him to be homeless and to have had to wander
from place to place. She empathised with him and was thus kind to him even
though she knew who he was.
Q19. Why
was Edla happy to see the gift left by the peddler?
Ans. The ironmaster and
Edla had expected that the peddler would have made away with all their silver
and were indeed pleasantly surprised to find that he had not stolen anything
but had left the thirty stolen kroners in a rattrap along with a letter. He
requested that the stolen money be returned to its rightful owner and stated in
his letter that having been treated with such dignity and having had his status
elevated to that of a captain, he felt that he could not embarrass them.
Q20. Why
did the peddler sign himself as Captain von Stahle?
Ans. The pedellar was
touched by the kind treatment Edla gave him. Edla, despite knowing his real
identity, treated him like a captain. Now it was his turn to show her that the
guest she had honoured was as honourable as the captain and not merely a petty
thief. Latent goodness of his heart awakened, he behaved in a dignified manner.
Signed himself as Captain von Stahle.
Long
Answer Type Questions
Q1. How
does the peddler interpret the acts of kindness and hospitality shown by
the crofter, the ironmaster and his daughter?
Ans. The peddler feels
absolutely no compunction about accepting the hospitality of the crofter and
then robbing him of his hard-earned kroner. He enjoys playing cards with his
host all evening and then makes away with his money the next morning. When the
ironmaster having mistaken him for a regimental comrade invites him to his
house to share his Christmas lunch, he feels a sense of entrapment, having the
stolen money on his person, and thus declines the invitation. He feels that to
accept the hospitality of the ironmaster would be like voluntarily throwing
himself into the lion’s den. However, he does not at the outset disclose his
true identity because he hopes to profit from the mistake thinking perhaps a
few kroner would come his way but now he only wants to rest near the forge at
night and quietly slip away in the morning. The kindness of the ironmaster’s daughter
touches the tramp’s heart making him feel more worthy. She makes him feel
comfortable and raises his self-esteem. Even after his true identity has been
discovered, she feels sympathetic towards him and convinces her father to let
him stay and share Christmas cheer with them. She does not for a moment doubt
his integrity and the tramp repays this faith and kindness by leaving behind
the stolen kroner to be returned to the rightful owner along with one of his
rattraps as a present and a letter addressed to the daughter thanking her for
elevating his status to that of a captain and for the chance to redeem his
mistake.
Q2. What
are the instances in the story that show that the character of the ironmaster
is different from that of his daughter in many ways?
Ans. The ironmaster is a
man of power whose ambition was to ensure that good iron was shipped out. He
believed in closely supervising the work at the ironworks to make sure that all
was in order. When he saw the tramp, he was not overcome with sympathy. His
arrogance came to the fore and he commenced to give him a piece of his mind
regarding his unwise decision of not resigning at the appropriate time. His
invitation to the tramp to come to his house stemmed more from a sense of
superiority rather than true philanthropy. He was most indignant to discover
that the tramp had deceived him regarding his true identity. The ironmaster’s
daughter sensed something amiss on her very first meeting with the tramp. She
was not convinced that he had ever been in the army and when she was proved
right, her reaction was not one of indignation but one of sympathy,
understanding and kindness. She realised how he must always have to contend
with being turned away and not being made welcome anywhere and decided that she
would give him that opportunity of feeling secure and welcome in their home.
She had more faith in him than did her father and when the tramp did nothing but
eat and sleep, she was able to appreciate the fact that he had probably never
felt so secure in his life. She even convinced her father to gift him the suit
that was loaned to the tramp as a Christmas gift.
Q3. The
story has many instances of unexpected reactions from the characters to others’
behaviour. Pick out instances of these surprises.
Ans. The peddler, walking along on a winters
evening, is able to avail the unconditional warmth and hospitality of the owner
of the cottage. The host shares his food, his home and his confidences, showing
the stranger the money that he had made. The tramp, the next day, feels no
remorse for stealing the money and walking away. When he is seeking shelter
from the cold and has the opportunity to spend the night at the ironmaster’s
house, he declines as he has the stolen money with him and feels that he will
be walking into the lion’s den. However, when the same invitation is extended
by the ironmaster through his daughter, the tramp accepts as her kindness
filters through. Left alone in the ironmaster’s house, the tramp has every
opportunity to make away with the valuables. On the contrary, the tramp goes
away leaving behind the stolen money to be returned to the rightful owner along
with a rattrap as a present for the ironmaster’s daughter.
Q4. What
made the peddler finally change his ways?
Ans. The peddler had lived
a life of privation and constant rejection. It had made him cynical and embittered.
Self-preservation had become his sole objective and he could not sense the
difference between right and wrong. He had lost his sense of self-worth, having
lived in penury with no home to call his own and not even a name to answer to.
He had to resort to begging and petty thieving to survive and life offered no
pleasure at all. The sadness and monotony of his life had convinced him of the
fact that life was like a huge rattrap and just as the cheese and pork in the
traps that he made were the bait, so also the riches, joys, shelter and the
food that life offered were the bait. As soon as anyone let himself be tempted,
it closed in around him and all came to an end. He took pleasure in thinking of
all the acquaintances who had been caught in this trap. However, the meeting
with the ironmaster’s daughter was the turning point in his life. The kindness,
the concern and the understanding that she showed him touched the core of his
heart and transformed his way of thinking.
Q5. How
does the metaphor of the rattrap serve to highlight the human predicament?
Ans. The tramp during his
wanderings hit upon the thought that just as the cheese and the pork are the
bait in the rattraps that he makes so also the joys, the warmth, the shelter
and the comforts that life offers are the bait to trap humans in the huge
rattrap of the world. It gave him immense pleasure to ruminate about all
his acquaintances who had fallen into the trap. Though these were the thoughts
of an embittered man who envied those whose lot was better than his, yet the
metaphor of the trap holds some truth when one thinks about life. The more one
has, the more one wants and sometimes the reasons for wanting those things
become secondary to the wants themselves. Jealousy and rivalry are the
corollary of material acquisitions and the only motivation to possess things is
to outdo another. The rattrap of the world entraps us and we are so occupied
with chasing the state of fulfilment that ever evades us that we are again
engulfed in despair and discontentment.
Q6. The
peddler comes out as a person with a subtle sense of humour. How does
this serve in lightening the seriousness of the theme of the story and
also endear him to us?
Ans. The peddler, with his subtle sense of
humour was able to make an equation between the rattraps that he made and
the world, which he likened to a huge rattrap, offering bait and then closing
in, round those who fell for them. This was his way of consoling himself
that no matter what his lot, he was better off than those who fell for the
worldly bait of joy, warmth, shelter and other such comforts. This makes
the sad, the weary and melancholy tramp very human and real. He manages to
arouse the sympathy of the reader despite his thieving ways and his dead
conscience for he makes the reader examine the merits of self-preservation. His
preoccupation with remaining undetected as the thief who has made away with the
thirty hard-earned kroner of the crofter makes him refuse the luxury of
spending Christmas at the fine house of the ironmaster. The kindness with which
the ironmaster s daughter treats him touches the core of his hitherto hardened
heart. The restoration of his dignity results in his transformation into a
responsible human being, sensitive, courteous, grateful and gracious.
Q7. The reader’s
sympathy is with the peddler right from the beginning of the story. Why is this so? Is the sympathy
justified?
Ans. The peddler earns the
sympathy of the reader because on every occasion when his woes seem to be
ending, he is assailed by fresh problems, as if caught in a rattrap with no
escape. After receiving hospitality form a crofter, he is assailed by feelings
of guilt as he stoops to temptation and steals the crofter’s earnings.
Paradoxically, he loses his way in a forest even though he is a vagabond who
has always found his way through the woods. At the smithy when he is mistaken
for an acquaintance of the iron master he plays along, only to be discovered
subsequently and being threatened with imprisonment. When Edla offers him
unconditional love and hospitality, he does truly reform. He rids himself of
the stolen wealth and presents the girl with the kroner in a symbolic rattrap,
and becomes a carefree and satisfied individual.
Q8. The
story also focuses on human loneliness and the need to bond with others.
(a) Festivities are not
complete without bonding with other human beings. Thus the ironmaster takes
home the peddler mistaking him for his former acquaintance Captain von Stahle
because he cannot bear to leave an acquaintance stranded on Christmas Eve.
(b)
The daughter and father welcome the stranger as they like to have company to
share their joys on Christmas.
(c) Even after finding out
that the stranger is not the former acquaintance, the daughter insists on his
staying with them because of the need for human company.
(d) The story illustrates that lonely people
are willing to take in any human beings because of the innate need for human
company. Thus the crofter welcomed the vagabond under his roof.
(e) The confession of the man to stealing or
acquiescing to a false identity did not alter the generosity of his hosts as
they were hungry for company at all costs.
Q9. The story is both entertaining and
philosophical.
Ans. (a) The story is entertaining because of
the many sudden twists in the storyline that is maintained throughout the
content. Each time, the stranger seemed to have overcome his troubles, he met
with fresh hurdles.
(b) It is entertaining because of the
differences in the locales where the various incidents occur, and the dialogue
of the characters. The scene of mistaken identities reveals this point.
(c) The story maintains an air of suspense
right through and even the concluding part of the story is a startling one.
(d) The story is philosophical because it poses
an open-ended query as to whether our lives are conditioned by our fate or are
a direct follow-through of our own follies, caught as we are in a giant
rattrap.
(e) It also brings to the fore that human love,
in the form of hospitality when given unconditionally, brings about real change
as was revealed through the character of the ironmaster's daughter towards the
peddler.