The Rattrap, by Selma Lagerlof is written as if it is a fairytale. It has a message such as one might find in a fairy tale. The message is that there is a little bit of goodness hidden somewhere in the minds of everyone born on this Earth. The great question is, how to bring out this goodness? In many cases, the drawing out of what is good in a person is the result of a process of transformation!
The story describes a process of transformation that takes in the Peddler. The reader comes across the Peddler at the beginning of the story who is rather vindictive, pessimistic and cynical and then an entirely transformed person who has the dignity of a Captain, a person who is grateful and gracious! You will notice that both of them are diametrically and radically different from each other! The Peddler at the beginning of the story is a revengeful, vindictive, and jealous person who has no scruples in robbing others. He has poor self-esteem and is full of feelings of vengeance, hostility, and malevolence towards the whole world. We see him as a perpetually suspicious man who views the kindness of others with doubt.
By the end of the story, we see a reformed and transformed Peddler. He has a name and a title. He has the dignity and self-esteem of a captain in the army! The letter that he leaves for Edla is an affirmation of the transformation that had taken place within him. He signs the letter off as Captain Von Stahle. The gift of the Rattrap with the thirty kroner is a symbol and acceptance on his part, of the change that has taken place in him. The letter and the gift are both his way of thanking Edla for bringing out a transformation in him. She had treated him with respect and dignity due to an army captain, thus he was returning goodness with goodness, for if evil begets evil, then in the same way, good begets good!
By the end of the story, we see a reformed and transformed Peddler. He has a name and a title. He has the dignity and self-esteem of a captain in the army! The letter that he leaves for Edla is an affirmation of the transformation that had taken place within him. He signs the letter off as Captain Von Stahle. The gift of the Rattrap with the thirty kroner is a symbol and acceptance on his part, of the change that has taken place in him. The letter and the gift are both his way of thanking Edla for bringing out a transformation in him. She had treated him with respect and dignity due to an army captain, thus he was returning goodness with goodness, for if evil begets evil, then in the same way, good begets good!
The process of transformation takes place in three very clear stages. The first stage in the process of transformation takes place when he comes across the old crofter. The old crofter, unlike everyone else he has met in life, greets him with a smile. He gives him porridge, shares his tobacco, plays a game of cards 'mjolis' with him, and then shares his confidence with him. To prove that he is not lying, he shows the Peddler the thirty kroner. The overarching emotion that courses through the Peddler's mind is that of doubt and suspicion! As per his world view, the old crofter might as well be the Devil's advocate who is trying to get him trapped by tempting him with the thirty kroner as the bait! That this was what he thought is proved when he gets lost in the forest and berates himself for having fallen for the thirty kroner. He looks at the forest as a Rattrap!
The second stage in the process of transformation takes place when the Iron Master comes across him at the ironworks. Mistaking him to be an old comrade, Niels Olof, he invites the Peddler to his home. The Peddler initially plays along but then gets frightened when the Ironmaster insists that he should accompany him to the Manor to share in the Christmas fare. Somehow he knows, the Peddler, that to go to the Manor would be risky and dangerous, as if he was entering a 'lion's den'. What if he got caught by the Sheriff? The overarching emotion in the second stage is the emotion of fear and terror - the fear of being caught for stealing the thirty kroner.
The third stage in the process of transformation takes place when Edla intervenes on her father's behalf and she is able to convince him that he will be free to leave whenever he wished. Later when the Ironmaster realises his mistake and he threatens to hand him over to the Sheriff, Edla intercedes on his behalf. Her father thinks she had gone crazy, and the stranger is puzzled by her insistence that he stay and enjoy the Christmas fare with them, not only this, but she even tells him that the suit he is wearing is his to keep, a gift from them, and to add to all this, she tells him he is welcome to spend the next Christmas with them! The principal emotion the Peddler goes through in the last stage of transformation is the emotion and feeling of amazement, and awe, that a person totally unknown to him should fight for him so spiritedly!
The writer, Selma Lagerlof ends up suggesting that it is unconditional love and unconditional kindness that have the power to transform people. The Old Crofter showed unconditional kindness towards the Peddler. The Ironmaster did not show unconditional kindness towards the Peddler, because the kindness he showed to the stranger was intended for and old comrade, not an imposter. This does not, however, mean that the Ironmaster did not have a role to play in the process of transformation. In fact, by agreeing to his daughter's pleas, he was furthering the process of transformation that had been started by the old Crofter. The final stage adds up to the contribution of the old Crofter and even the business-minded Ironmaster when Edla displays her unconditional kindness towards the stranger. Her conviction that in the midst of all that was bad in the Peddler, there lurked deep within, a little boy who was good in nature. It was to that boy that Edla appealed when she fought on his behalf! If negativity begets negativity, then surely this story proves that positivity begets positivity, in the same way, that unconditional kindness brings out what is good in us!
Important Extract based questions
"Since you have been so nice to me all day as if I was a captain, I want to be nice to you, in return, as if I was a real captain - for I do not want you to be embarrassed at this Christmas season by a thief;..."
1. Who is the writer of these lines and what change do you notice in him?
Answer: The writer of the above lines is the peddler. We notice that he has become more humble, and repentant, and he wants to be 'nice' to the person he is writing this letter to.
2. Who is 'you' in the above lines and what has 'you' done to bring about a change?
Answer: 'You' is the Ironmaster's daughter, Edla. She treated the peddler with unconditional kindness, dignity and respect. She hosted him for Christmas, gave him food to eat, and invited him to spend the next Christmas with them.
3. Why does the writer refer to the word 'captain'?
Answer: The Ironmaster had mistaken the peddler for Nils Olof, someone who had served in the regiment. He had probably been a Captain in the army. He refers to the word Captain as a mark of his transformation from a peddler to a Captain. Metaphorically he has gained the dignity of a Captain.
4. What is the significance of the 'Christmas season' at this stage?
Important Extract based questions
"Since you have been so nice to me all day as if I was a captain, I want to be nice to you, in return, as if I was a real captain - for I do not want you to be embarrassed at this Christmas season by a thief;..."
1. Who is the writer of these lines and what change do you notice in him?
Answer: The writer of the above lines is the peddler. We notice that he has become more humble, and repentant, and he wants to be 'nice' to the person he is writing this letter to.
2. Who is 'you' in the above lines and what has 'you' done to bring about a change?
Answer: 'You' is the Ironmaster's daughter, Edla. She treated the peddler with unconditional kindness, dignity and respect. She hosted him for Christmas, gave him food to eat, and invited him to spend the next Christmas with them.
3. Why does the writer refer to the word 'captain'?
Answer: The Ironmaster had mistaken the peddler for Nils Olof, someone who had served in the regiment. He had probably been a Captain in the army. He refers to the word Captain as a mark of his transformation from a peddler to a Captain. Metaphorically he has gained the dignity of a Captain.
4. What is the significance of the 'Christmas season' at this stage?
Answer: It is the season of fellowship, forgiveness, kindness and good cheer. It is significant that the peddler's transformation takes place during Christmas.
II. "The rattrap is a Christmas present from a rat who would have been caught in this world's rattrap if he had not been raised to captain, because in that way he got power to clear himself..."
1. The writer of the above lines is
a) Edla
b) Captain von Stahle
c) the Iron master
d) none of the above
2. The letter is an expression of _______ addressed to _________
a) anger the Iron master
b) gratitude Edla
c) hopelessness Edla
d) thankfulness Nils Olof
3. The above extract is a proof that:
a) transformation had taken place for the better
b) the writer had stolen 30 kroner
c) the writer had stolen silverware
d) the writer was a criminal
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