The Rattrap: A Tale of Redemption and Kindness in the Mines of Sweden
Amidst the iron-rich mines of Sweden, "The Rattrap" by Selma Lagerlof tells the story of a disheartened peddler whose life takes a turn when shown generosity by a young woman. Through acts of kindness and acceptance, the peddler's pessimism transforms, illustrating the power of love and understanding in human redemption. The narrative combines elements of a fairy tale to convey a universal message of awakening goodness in others through compassion and empathy.
Download Presentation
Please find below an Image/Link to download the presentation.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author. Download presentation by click this link. If you encounter any issues during the download, it is possible that the publisher has removed the file from their server.
E N D
Presentation Transcript
AUTHOR Selma Lagerlof (1858-1940) was a Swedish writer whose stories have been translated into many languages. This story is set in the middle of the mines of Sweden which are rich in iron ore.The story is narrated in the manner of a fairy tale. It gives us the message that the emotions of love and acceptance can reform others.
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.
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: A peddlar with rattraps. An Oldman: A crofter Master Smith in the Ramsjo Iron Mill in Sweden Helpers in the Mill: blacksmiths Iron mill owner EdlaWillmansson daughter of the Iron Mill owner.
VOCABULARY Sunken: lowered Gleamed: Shone Vagabond: wanderer Plods: walks heavily Dreary: dull Plodding: walk heavily Snare: trap Trudging: walking slowly Carved off: to divide something into parts mjolis: a game played with playing cards Crofter: A person who works on a rented farm Bossy: Latin word bos used for a cow Creamery: A factory that produces cheese and cream Kronor: Currency of Sweden
Incredulous: unbelieving Stuffed: to fill up with something Peddler: seller Smashed: badly broken Thickets: A dense group of bushes Impenetrable: impassable Gloom: dark Despair: hopelessness Thumping: the sound of some heavy object beating Summoned: gathered Stagger: To walk with difficulty Forge: A shop where metal is heated Barge: a long flat-bottomed boat for carrying freight on canals and rivers. Scow: a flat-bottomed boat used for transporting cargo to and from ships in harbor. sifted: descended lightly or sparsely as if sprinkled from a sieve Smelter:A machine in which metal is melted to form into a shape Rolling mill: machine to roll metal into sheets
Bellows: air bag that emits a stream of air used for blowing air into a fire. Shoveled: move Maw: jaws Clatter: bang Whipped: beaten with a whip, here to hit something Sooty panes: window panes covered in soot ( black powder produced when coal, wood etc is burned. Haughty: arrogant Prominent: Important Tramp: vagabond, wanderer Ragamuffin: A person in rags Deigned: do something that one considers to be beneath one's dignity Slouch hat: hat bend on one side of the head. Manor house: A large country house Inconspicuously: invisible or which is not noticeable
Valet: personal attendant Forebodings: a foretelling Flesh on his bones: here it means that the seller should eat good food to gain some flesh on his body Queer: strange Starched collar: Starch is the stuff that makes your shirt collar look crisp and fresh. Whole shoes: Proper fitted shoes Puckered: wrinkle Dissimulate: pretend Splendor: luxury Sheriff: chief executive officer of crown (in England) Interceded: intervened Parson: Churchman Dejected: sad
POINTS TO NOTE: The peddler was a vagabond who sold rattraps with a little thievery on the side to make both ends meet. Had no worldly possession to call his own, not even a name It amused him to think of the world as a rattrap. Takes shelter at a crofter s cottage. The crofter welcomed him, gave him diner, shared his pipe, played ramjolis with him also confided in him about his income and showed him where he put it. Next morning, the Peddler steals the money and takes the back roads to keep away from people and gets lost in the jungle at night. While he wanders in the forest he realizes that he has also got caught in the rattrap and that the money was the bait. Finally reaches Ramsjo ironworks, where he takes shelter for the night. The blacksmith and his assistant ignore him but the master mistakes him to be an old acquaintance and invites him home. Though the Peddler does not correct the ironmaster, hoping to get some money out of him, he declines his invitation.
The ironmaster then sends his daughter who persuades him to go home with her. She notices his uncouth appearance and thinks that either he has stolen something or he has escaped from jail. The Peddler is scrubbed, bathed, given a haircut, a shave and a suit of old clothes of the ironmaster. In the morning light, the iron master realizes he is mistaken and that he is not the Captain. He wants to call the Sheriff. The peddler is agitated and breaks out that the world is rattrap and he too is sure to be caught in it. The ironmaster is amused but orders him out. The compassionate Edla convinces her father that he should spend the Christmas day with him. The Peddler spends the whole of Christmas Eve eating and sleeping. The next day at church, Edla and her father come to know that the Peddler is a thief who stole thirty kroners from the poor crofter. Back home, they found a letter addressed to Edla, signed as Captain Von Stahl and a rattrap as a gift from the crofter. In the rattrap were the three ten kroner notes of the crofter.
SUMMARY 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 crofter s. 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.
