The Rattrap Summary

The Rattrap Summary – The Rattrap is a story about a rattrap seller who leads a very poor
life as his earnings are very low. He has to resort to thievery and begging to make both ends
meet. He is alone in this whole world and leads a miserable life. So he starts knitting up
various kinds of thoughts. One of these thoughts is of supposing the whole world as a big
rattrap. His views are that the world offers us various types of baits in the form of comforts
of life. This in return traps us into the rattrap of the world and leads us to various types of
miseries.
Every night, the peddler had to search for shelter as he has no home. One evening he was
offered shelter by an old crofter. The next morning he stole the crofter’s money which he
had earned by selling his cow’s milk. To safeguard himself, the peddler chose the path
through the forest which was secluded, but soon found himself trapped in the forest as he
wasn’t able to find the way out of the dense forest. Later on, he finds a way to a forge and
takes shelter there. Something unusual happens. The ironmaster mistakes him as an old
friend and invites him to his house. The poor peddler rejects the offer due to the fear of
being caught. Soon he is invited by the ironmaster‘s daughter. The next morning he is
somehow stopped by the ironmaster’s daughter for Christmas Eve even after being caught
that he was a peddler and not Captain Stalhe.
The next day after Christmas, when the ironmaster and his daughter visit the church, they
come to know that the man is a thief who had stolen money from the old crofter. The iron
master and his daughter repent for sheltering a thief and wonder at what all things he
would have stolen by that time. Here comes a twist as instead of stealing, the peddler gifts
the ironmaster’s daughter a rattrap. She finds a letter of thanks and the stolen money inside
the rattrap. The peddler thanks Edla for her kindness and requests her to return the stolen
money to the crofter. This story gives us the message that goodness in a human being can
be awakened at any time with your own good deeds.
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Theme of the Lesson

The potential of kindness and human connection to change even the most hardened and
distrustful people is the central topic in Selma Lagerlof’s “The Rattrap.” The narrative
chronicles the travels of an elderly vagrant who receives a little rattrap from a generous and
caring hostel owner. The tramp encounters several individuals along the way who, in spite
of their own challenging situations, are kind and generous to him. The tramp reflects on his
own life and actions as a result of this encounter, which finally inspires him to make amends
and improve himself. The underlying message is that everyone is capable of change and
that even the smallest act of kindness can have a big impact on someone else’s life.

The Rattrap Question Answers

Q1- How does the peddler interpret the acts of kindness and hospitality shown by the
crofter, the ironmaster and his daughter?
A1- The peddler was a rattrap seller. He was leading a life of misery. He was homeless.
Moreover, he didn’t have enough money to survive. So, he had to depend upon begging and
thievery. He was once offered shelter by an old crofter. He wanted company and showed
kindness towards the peddler by sharing his porridge and tobacco. In return, the peddler
betrayed him and stole his money.
The ironmaster mistook him as his old companion Captain Von Stahle; he showed his
kindness to him and invited him to his house for Christmas Eve. The peddler knew that the
ironmaster was making a mistake by thinking him to be his old friend but here also he did
not clear the air and simply accepted the invitation. He did this so that the ironmaster may
give him some money out of pity.
Elda Williamson who was the iron master’s daughter invited him to their house in a very
friendly way. Also, she insisted her father to let him stay for Christmas Eve even after it was
revealed that he was not Captain Von Stahle. The kind nature of Elda changed the peddler
and he not only thanked her by gifting a rattrap for being so kind and caring but also
requested her to return the stolen money to the old crofter.

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?
A2- The character of both ironmaster and his daughter were totally different from each
other.
The iron master was a proud man. When he saw the peddler, he mistook him as an old
regimental comrade and tried to help him out of his sense of pride. When he realized that
he had been mistaken, he called the peddler to be dishonest and also warned him of calling
the sheriff. Not only this, he worried about his silver spoons when he comes to know that
peddler was a thief. On the other hand, the ironmaster’s daughter was a kind lady, who
really wanted to help the peddler. She treated him with respect and it was her kind nature
that changed the peddler and made him a good person.

Q3- The story has many instances of unexpected reactions from the characters to
others’ behaviour. Pick out instances of these surprises?
A3- The story has many instances of unexpected reactions from the characters to others’
behavior. For example:
One evening when the peddler knocked at the door of a little hut, he was not disappointed
by the owner rather he welcomed him and tried to be a good host to him by offering him
food and playing cards with him. In another instance when the peddler went inside a forge
to seek shelter, there he was invited by the ironmaster to his house as he mistook him as
one of his old regimental comrade. But when the ironmaster realized that he had invited
some unknown person to his house, he asked him to leave. At his time, he was allowed to
stay by his daughter Elda out of kindness.

Q4- What made the peddler finally change his ways?

A4- Edla Willimansson’s kindness reformed the peddler. Her kindness, compassion, and
generosity killed the thief in him. He gifted her a rattrap. Also, he returned the three ten
kronor notes that he had stolen from the crofter’s house. He requested her to return the
money to the old crofter. He wrote a letter to her, thanking her for treating him well just like
she would have treated a real captain.
Q5- How does the metaphor of the rattrap serve to highlight the human predicament?
A5- The world tempts human beings with various good things such as luxuries and joys,
food and shelter, clothing and warmth, etc. They are just like the bait which is planted to
trap someone in the rattrap of the world. In the story, the peddler was attracted to the three
ten kronors of the crofter, which he stole from him. Later on, he found himself trapped in
the forest as he planned to hide by walking through the woods. When he got trapped, he
thought that this was a punishment for his sin of getting lured by the money.

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?
A6- We can see the peddler’s sense of humour when he compares the world with a rattrap.
Whenever he gets caught due to his own knitted stories, he tries to prove his innocence by
believing that he has fallen into the trap of this world which actually is like a rattrap. This
lightens the seriousness of the story and makes the reader sympathize with him.
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The Rattrap Extract based questions

No one can imagine how sad and monotonous life can appear to such a vagabond, who
plods along the road, left to his own meditations. But one day this man had fallen into a line
of thought, which really seemed to him entertaining. He had naturally been thinking of his
rattraps when suddenly he was struck by the idea that the whole world about him — the
whole world with its lands and seas, its cities and villages — was nothing but a big rattrap. It
had never existed for any other purpose than to set baits for people. It offered riches and
joys, shelter and food, heat and clothing, exactly as the rattrap offered cheese and pork, and
as soon as anyone let himself be tempted to touch the bait, it closed in on him, and then
everything came to an end.
1. Find a synonym of homeless
A. Vagabond
2. The vagabond compares the _____________ to a rattrap
a. Life
b. World
c. rattrap
d. Bag
A. World
3. Which of the following can be said to be a bait offered by the world?
a. Family
b. Friends
c. money
d. Education
A. c
4. World : rattrap : : ___________ : rats
a. Rats
b. Animals
c. humans
d. Vagabond
A. c
5. Why was the vagabond’s life sad and monotonous?
A. His life was sad and monotonous because he was a homeless man, did not have any work
or family.
The old man was just as generous with his confidences as with his porridge and tobacco.
The guest was informed at once that in his days of prosperity his host had been a crofter at
Ramsjo Ironworks and had worked on the land. Now that he was no longer able to do day
labour, it was his cow which supported him. Yes, that bossy was extraordinary. She could
give milk for the creamery every day, and last month he had received all of thirty kronor in
payment.
1. The statement ‘The old man was just as generous with his confidences as with his
porridge and tobacco.’ means that-
a. He was kind to the vagabond
b. He shared his secrets with the vagabond
c. The vagabond was kind to the crofter
d. All of these
A. b
2. Who is the ‘guest’ here?
a. Crofter
b. Vagabond
c. both a and b
d. Can’t say
A. b
3. Who is the extraordinary bossy?
a. Vagabond
b. Cow
c. crofter
d. All of these
A. b
4. Find a synonym of ‘dairy’
A. Creamery
During one of the long dark evenings just before Christmas, the master smith and his helper
sat in the dark forge near the furnace waiting for the pig iron, which had been put in the fire,
to be ready to put on the anvil. Every now and then one of them got up to stir the glowing
mass with a long iron bar, returning in a few moments, dripping with perspiration, though,
as was the custom, he wore nothing but a long shirt and a pair of wooden shoes.
All the time there were many sounds to be heard in the forge. The big bellows groaned and
the burning coal cracked. The fire boy shovelled charcoal into the maw of the furnace with a
great deal of clatter. Outside roared the waterfall, and a sharp north wind whipped the rain
against the brick-tiled roof.
1. What is pig iron?
a. A type of iron metal
b. A type of iron for clothes
c. iron in the shape of a pig
d. None of these
A. a
2. Find a synonym of ‘sweat’
A. Perspiration
3. Which of the following is NOT one of the sounds heard there?
a. Waterfall
b. Wind
c. bellows
d. Burning coal
A. b
4. What does ‘maw’ mean?
a. Throat of the fire boy
b. Mouth of the fireplace
c. mouth of the fire boy
d. All of these
A. b
5. The roof was made of __________
a. Tin
b. Brick tiles
c. wood
d. Iron
A. b
To go along up to the manor house and be received by the owner like an old regimental
comrade — that, however, did not please the tramp.
‘‘No, I couldn’t think of it!’’ he said, looking quite alarmed.
He thought of the thirty kronor. To go up to the manor house would be like throwing
himself voluntarily into the lion’s den. He only wanted a chance to sleep here in the forge
and then sneak away as inconspicuously as possible.
1. State true or false-
The vagabond was reluctant in going to the ironmaster’s house.
A. True
2. What does “throwing himself voluntarily into the lion’s den” mean?
a. To enter a lion’s den
b. To get into danger
c. to fall into a den
d. To jump into a ditch
A. b
3. Find a synonym of unnoticeable
A. Inconspicuously
4. Why did he think that going to the manor house would get him into trouble?
A. He had committed a theft and soon it would be discovered by the crofter. This news
would spread in the area and the chances of his being caught would be higher if he would
be at the manor house.
The ironmaster mumbled something in his beard. He could not bring himself to oppose her.
“It was all a mistake, of course,” she continued. “But anyway I don’t think we ought to chase
away a human being whom we have asked to come here, and to whom we have promised
Christmas cheer.”
“You do preach worse than a parson,” said the ironmaster. “I only hope you won’t have to
regret this.” The young girl took the stranger by the hand and led him up to the table.
“Now sit down and eat,” she said, for she could see that her father had given in.
1. Why did the ironmaster want to oppose his daughter?
A. His daughter wanted to keep the stranger at their house but he did not accept this.
2. What quality of Edla can we see here?
a. Kind
b. Wealthy
c. haughty
d. Talkative
A. a
3. Find a synonym of priest
A. Parson
4. What does it mean by “her father had given in”?
A. It means that he had accepted her decision.
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