CBSE Class 12 English The Rattrap Notes Set D

The Rattrap Peddler.
- Sells small rattraps; unprofitable business.
- Used to beg and even steal to survive.
- Clothes were in rags (torn piece of cloth)
- Sunken cheeks & poor
- The world is a big rattrap. Just like rattrap traps a rat with cheese and pork as a bait, the world offers comfort and joy as a bait and traps us.

Robbery at The Crofter’s house
- Seeked The Crofter’s shelter for one dark night.
- Happy crofter to receive a guest, since he had no family.
- Talkative Crofter shared all information about him - being an ex-worker at Ironwork, only cow supports him & earned 30 kronor by selling milk
- Next morning, 30 kronor were stolen by peddler by smashing the window pane.
- The vagabond (homeless person) realised himself being trapped by the bait (30 kronor).

Met The Iron Master
- The peddler was lost in the woods with no energy left.
- Found an iron mill and entered there to get some warmth.
- The Iron master mistook him from an old Regimental comrade and addressed him as Nils Olof and invited him to his house.
- The peddler declined the invitation, neither tried to clear his doubt.

Met Ironmaster’s daughter – Edla
- The ironmaster asked his daughter Edla to persuade the Peddler.
- Edla sensed him to be either a thief on run or an escaped prisoner.
- Despite knowing, Edla convinced the peddler to come to their home for Christmas.

Christmas Eve
- Iron master was happy to spend time with his old friend.
- Fed the Rattrap seller and gave him time to groom himself
- Exposed face made the Ironmaster realise the reality of the Peddler.
- The iron master accused the peddler for hiding his reality & said he would call the cops
- Agitated peddler, said that the world was like a big rattrap & someday iron master would also be doomed.
- The iron master asked peddler to leave but Edla convinced him to stay at least for Christmas
- The peddler had sound sleep & received the suit as a gift

Changed Heart of the Peddler
- The ironmaster along with his daughter went to the Church, leaving the peddler at home.
- Heard robbery news of 30 kronor at church and learned that the rattrap peddler was the thief.
- Asked valet about the thief escaping the house
- The peddler escaped the house but left a package in a rattrap.
- Package had 30 kronor notes & a letter.
- Signed the letter as ‘Captain von Stahle’ and a Thankyou note for Edla who treated him really nice.
Theme ⟹ Goodness lies in the hearts of everyone which fist need to be awakened through understanding and love.

Summary

This story is about a person, who see the world as a rattrap. His condition is very poor as he is dressed in rags. He lives alone & his life is a misery. To keep the pot boiling, he started stealing and begging. The world is rattrap which offers baits to trap the people. Those baits are materialistic things. So one day he was looking for a shelter and found cottage owned by an old crofter. The crofter lived alone, so he allowed the peddler to let in. The old man welcomed him with porridge for supper and gave him tobacco for his pipe, while playing games. He got taken into account to get into talking and showed his guest, the 30 kronor, that he had earned last month. Next morning the old man left his house to tend his cow. The peddler made hay while the sun shined and stole those 30 kronor. He escaped the house and reached to an iron mill. It was cold, so he sat near the furnace to get some warmth. In the meantime, the owner of the mill arrived and mistook him for his old friend Nils Olof. Peddler had beard & untangled hair. The peddler initially denied but was later allured for more money, if he went with. Also the ironmaster’s daughter invited him home for Christmas eve even after knowing that her father has mistaken him for someone else. The ironmaster assumed that the peddler felt embarrassed because of his untidy condition, but his daughter noticed that the man was afraid either he had stolen something or he escaped from prison.
Next day was Christmas Eve, the ironmaster came into dining room for breakfast they asked him to get clean & dressed up and then right after that came a good-looking man, all groomed. They both got shocked because now they realised, that the father mistook him for being an old comrade of his. The peddler was not at fault but was accused of hiding his own identity. He requested the ironmaster to let him stay in the forge.
The ironmaster wanted to call cops, but the peddler started explaining his theory about the world being a rattrap. The daughter had her father allow him to stay and have rest.
In the evening, the family found out the news of stolen money in his absence. On returning the manor, the rattrap seller already left the place and left behind 30 kronor to ironmaster’s daughter as a gesture. The heart of the peddler changed & instead of stealing he gifted the stolen money in a rattrap to ironmaster’s daughter. Also, she found a letter of thanks with the gift. The kindness and generous behaviour of ironmaster’s daughter changed the heart of the peddler.
 

About the Author

Selma Lagerlöf (1858 – 1940) was born in Östra Emterwik, Värmland, Sweden. She was brought up on Mårbacka, the family estate, which she did not leave until 1881, when she went to a teachers’ college at Stockholm. In 1885 she became a teacher at the Girls’ Secondary School in Landskrona. She had been writing poetry ever since she was a child, but she did not publish anything until 1890. Her stories have been translated into many languages. A universal theme runs through all of them, a belief that one can awaken the innate goodness in a human being through love.

Theme
‘‘The Rattrap’’ written by Selma Lagerlof is a short story about an old, disillusioned peddler and thief who is taken in and shown generosity by a young woman. Her kindness changes his bitter attitude about life.

Justification of the Title
Selma Lagerlof gives a very apt and logical title to the story. The metaphor of the rattrap is very effectively used. The whole world is nothing but a big rattrap. All riches, joys, food and shelter are just baits. The moment anyone touches the bait, the rattrap closes in on him. Then everything comes to an end.

Message
In the story, the author Selma Lagerlof conveys a definite message. The story has a universal appeal. The essential goodness in a human being never dies. It can be awakened through understanding and love. Miss Edla awakens the basic goodness of the peddler. He is transformed into a noble person in the end.

Summary
The story is told in the manner of a fairy late and starts with ‘once upon a time there was a poor man who sold rat-traps of wire’. His income from the traps was not enough. So he also begged and stole petty things at times. Once an idea struck him that the world was like a rat-trap full of temptations to trap men. Man is tempted by the baits of wealth, power, like a rat is tempted by the cheese in a rat-trap. The man selling rat-traps lived a poor life without enough food or proper shelter. So, he looked upon the world like this in the light of his own sufferings. Once he took shelter in the house of a man who had been a crofter in Ramsjo Iron-Works. The man was without any family and was lonely. He welcomed the peddler. The crofter was friendly and generous. He was offered supper and tobacco. They also played a game of cards, told him about his life, and showed him the thirty kroner that he kept near the window. The peddler stole the money and left. Initially, he was happy to get the money but very soon fearing detection, he avoided the highway. He then saw the forge of the Ramsjo Iron-Works and went there to spend the night near the forge. At that time, the iron-master, the owner of the factory, came in. The iron-master mistook him to be his old friend, Nils Olof, with whom he had served in the regiment. To help his friend who he perceived had fallen into bad days, he invited the peddler to his house. The peddler realized that the iron-master was making a mistake but he did not correct him in a hope that he might give him some money.He did not want to go to the iron-master’s house as he feared that he might be detected. The ironmaster sent his daughter when he failed to convince the peddler. The kind-hearted daughter of the ironmaster, Edla Willmansson, was compassionate and loving. She suspected that the man might have committed some crime. But she ignored that and thought that the man, haunted by fear, must have lived a miserable life. She wanted to give him at least a night’s peace and security. She assured the peddler that in her house, he would be safe and he would be free to leave anytime. She persuaded him to be her guest on the Christmas Eve. The genuine compassion Edla showed gave the man a sense of peace and security. He slept as if he wanted to make up for the sleepless nights he had spent throughout his life. The following morning, on Christmas Eve, the ironmaster and his daughter discussed how to help the peddler. The ironmaster planned to help him regain his health and also to assist him in finding a vocation for himself. The peddler was bathed, shaved and given a hair cut. When he presented himself to his host, the ironmaster realised that it was not his comrade. He threatened to call the sheriff but Edla intervened. She persuaded her father to let him stay and not to chase away a person who had been promised good cheer by the ironmaster. The daughter gave him the suit that he was given to wear and she invited him next Christmas also and assured him of secrecy and security. The peddler was overwhelmed. The next morning, he left the manor house. But before leaving, he left the packet containing the thirty kroner of the crofter. He wrote a letter to Edla asking her to return the money to the crofter. He wrote that she had treated him with respect as if he were a real captain. She had treated him as a man and not as a thief. That genuine regard had induced him to be a better man and give up stealing. The genuine compassion and kindness of Edla changed the life of a thief and turned him into a better man.

CHAPTER IN A NUTSHELL
Set amidst mines of Sweden, rich in iron ore – manner of a fairy tale.
About the Tramp: sad and monotonous life, had sunken cheeks, eyes gleamed with hunger.
Got material from: (a) farms (b) begging Philosophical thought: whole world is a rattrap–lures with riches, joys, shelter, food, heat & clothing – exactly as rattrap offers cheese & pork–lures rat then closes in on him.
Turning point in life: One dark evening – saw gray cottage & asked for shelter – welcomed by lonely owner – earlier crofter at Ramsjo ironworks, now had a cow – milked – earned about 30 kroners – hung in leather bag, window frame, offered supper, tobacco, played cards, next morning tramp parted from crofter, half hour later returned, stole money, went to public highway. Entered the woods – confusing forest, felt trapped, exhausted, heard hammer strokes from the iron mill Ramsjo & took refuge, met Master Smith & helper who were unaware of his approach because of sounds of big bellow, waterfall, sharp wind & rain. Reaction: glanced indifferently & nodded a haughty consent without a single word.

Owner of Mill
Prosperous man – on night inspection – saw tramp – mistook for Nils Olof (Captain Von Stahle) – persuaded to go to manor house – tramp declined offer – would be like throwing into lion’s den – tramp kept quiet on mistaken identity, expecting gentlemen to throw him some kroners. Owner sent Edla – his daughter: persuasive, not pretty, modest, compassionate Edla could sense tramp was hiding/ escaping, tramp gave in, accepted fur coat, offered to spend Christmas Eve with him, while riding had evil forbodings and repented.
Secret Revealed on Christmas Eve
Hospitality, bathed, shaven, clean new clothes – owner realized mistaken identity, Tramp confessed – reacted angrily to threat of calling sheriff – repeated his belief that the whole world was a rattrap, Edla persuaded father to let him stay, promised him Christmas cheer.

Christmas Morning
Edla and father at church – heard about theft at crofter’s house – returns dejected, finds package left by tramp, confessed to making mistake, thanked daughter for giving second chance, returned stolen money – rattrap – letter, behaves like real Captain, signs as Captain.

Theme
Life is one big rattrap, if you take something wrongfully then you get trapped. By consequences of your actions, however one deserves second chance to redeem himself.

Character Sketch of Peddler
The peddler was a beggar who led a nomadic way of life. He was quite imaginative. He wore rags, had sunken cheeks, and his eyes gleamed from hunger. He roamed around the town selling wire rattraps that he made himself. He obtained this wire either through begging or by stealing. He possessed certain human flaws, such as the need to steal and beg to meet his basic necessities. He spent his evenings wherever he could find shelter because he had nowhere to stay during the day. He believes that the entire universe resembles a giant rat trap. It merely exists in order to attract others with bait. He believes that all wealth, happiness, food, clothing, and shelter are merely traps. The rattrap shuts on the person who touches the bait if and when he does.

Character Sketch of Ironmaster
The Ironmaster was the owner of Ramsjo Ironworks. He thought the man selling rattraps was an old friend from the army. He lacked the ability to make accurate conclusions about others. He was a kind and gentle man. He welcomed the street vendor to his home to look after him. He gets furious when he realizes that he had mistaken the stranger to be an old friend. He not only invited the peddler to spend the night at his house, but also provided him with a dinner of porridge. It was on his daughter’s insistence that he let the stranger remain at their house for Christmas festivities. He was a loving caring father who could see things from his daughter’s perspective.

Character Sketch of Edla
Edla, the ironmaster’s daughter, is characterised as being “not at all attractive, but humble and extremely shy. Even after it is established that the peddler is not Captain von Stahle, she is incredibly kind, convincing him to come to her house and then persuading her father to let him stay for Christmas Eve. Edla is more smart and observant than her father, as seen by the fact that she can identify the peddler’s fear and the likelihood that he has done a crime that he is evading right away. She is the most admirable character in the story and her kindness and charity bring about a change in the peddler’s heart.