Human Kindness

The Rattrap” is a short, almost fairy-tale story that centers around the
transforming power of human kindness. An unnamed peddler of rattraps goes from
seeing the world as “one big rattrap” and engaging in robbery to returning his
stolen money and proclaiming himself free—all as a result of experiencing true
kindness and generosity from Edla Willmansson on Christmas Eve. By showing the
peddler’s potential for positive change, Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf expresses a
belief that there is a core of goodness in all people, and that this goodness can
be unlocked through compassion and kindness.
When the story opens, the homeless peddler lives a hard and opportunistic life in
rural Sweden—he has never known kindness, and so he himself is unkind. As he
wanders the road begging and peddling his rattraps, the only pleasure he can find
is in thinking “ill” of the world by imagining it as one big rattrap, and by
ruminating on other people he knows who have been “trapped.” He finds joy in other
people’s misfortunes, having only known misfortune himself. The clearest example of
the peddler’s initial lack of kindness comes when he takes the decidedly immoral
action of stealing the crofter’s money. The crofter, an old man who lives alone,
welcomes the peddler in to stay with him for the night, generously offering him
food, shelter, and companionship. Over the course of the evening, the crofter
boasts about having earned thirty kronor by selling his cow’s milk, and he
pointedly shows the peddler where he keeps the money. The next day, after bidding
the crofter farewell, the peddler returns and steals the thirty kronor. The old man
offered him nothing but generosity and friendship, but the peddler returned this
generosity by stealing all of the crofter’s meager savings. The peddler even feels
pleased with himself because of this—he doesn’t even think in terms of compassion
or generosity, but only opportunism and what he can do to survive in a cruel
world.Eventually the peddler has his “rattrap” worldview overturned by experiencing
further kindness. This comes primarily from Edla Willmansson, the daughter of the
Ramsjö Ironworks’ ironmaster. The ironmaster initially mistakes the peddler for his
old regimental comrade, Captain von Stahle, and invites the peddler back to his
manor house for Christmas Eve. When the ironmaster later realizes that the peddler
is not von Stahle, he wants to kick him out of the house or even arrest him. Edla
protests, though, and declares that she wants the peddler to stay. She reminds her
father of the peddler’s hard, harsh life, where he never knows kindness or
companionship, and declares that she would like to offer him a safe and comfortable
place for at least one day a year. The peddler is amazed by this, and thinks, “What
could the crazy idea be?” He still assumes that this must be some new “trap,” and
that Edla is trying to get something out of him.Over the course of the next day and
night, the peddler’s amazement only grows, and he seems to recognize that Edla is
simply a kind and compassionate person. She gifts him the suit he is wearing as a
Christmas present, and then offers that he would be welcome back at the manor house
next Christmas Eve if he should again want a safe and warm place to stay. While the
narrative doesn’t describe the peddler’s thoughts at this point, it’s clear that he
experiences a fundamental change as a result of Edla’s compassion. This is shown
the next day, when the ironmaster and Edla return from church, where they learned
that the peddler is actually a thief. Upon getting back to the house and expecting
the peddler to have stolen from them as well, they instead find that the peddler
has left behind the crofter’s stolen money, a rattrap as a Christmas present, and a
letter for Edla. In the letter, he explains how her kindness has helped him to
“clear himself” of the rattrap of life, and says that because she was so “nice” to
him and treated him like a real captain, he wants to be nice to her in return.This
significant turn exhibits Lagerlöf’s point about the power of human kindness. The
peddler always had the latent potential for goodness within him, but because he
experienced only hardship and unkindness in life, he thought of the world as an
antagonistic place and was antagonistic to others in turn. When he experiences true
understanding and compassion from Edla Willmansson, however, he is able to adjust
his “rattrap” philosophy and find the goodness within himself, even being kind to
Edla by not only giving back the stolen money but also offering a rattrap as a
Christmas present. He then goes back to his difficult life of wandering and
peddling rattraps, but it’s assumed that the peddler has been fundamentally changed
for the better by his experience of Edla’s kindness. While “The Rattrap” doesn’t
shy away from the reality that the world can be a harsh and unkind place, it
ultimately takes an optimistic view of human nature, and advocates for the power of
the virtues of kindness and compassion.

Trust vs. Cynicism

As “The Rattrap” begins, the homeless peddler is defined by his “rattrap”

philosophy of life: that the world is nothing but a big rattrap that offers “bait”
in the form of luxuries and pleasures, and then ensnares and ruins anyone who
reaches for this bait. This is a fundamentally cynical worldview, and one that the
story ultimately undercuts by showing its limitations and offering an alternate
philosophy. Though life can be harsh and cruel at times, Selma Lagerlöf suggests
that being wholly cynical only leads one to isolation, immorality, and unhappiness.
Instead, the story advocates for a more trusting worldview, one that takes human
kindness into account and can build community between people.
At the story’s beginning, the peddler is cynical and opportunistic, assuming that
the world is out to get him and that he can’t trust anyone. He has lived a
difficult life, and so has learned this cynicism through hard experience. The old
man who lets him stay the night, however, is exceedingly trusting, welcoming the
peddler into his home (whereas the peddler is used to seeing “sour faces” when he
asks for shelter) and even showing him where he keeps his savings of thirty kronor.
The peddler then steals the money, and feels no remorse for what he’s done—in fact,
he feels “pleased with his smartness.” He assumes that the old man was foolish, and
never even considers why he might have trusted the peddler, whose company the old
man clearly enjoyed.
Edla Willmansson is the second person to offer the peddler her trust. While her
father, the ironmaster, welcomes the peddler into his home only because he thinks
the peddler is his old regimental comrade, Edla decides to trust him to stay even
after learning his true identity. She and her father go to church the next day,
where they learn that the peddler recently robbed the old man (who used to be a
crofter at Ramsjö Ironworks). This sets up the expectation that the peddler might
have robbed them as well—and this is what the cynical ironmaster believes, as he
criticizes his daughter for trusting the stranger and letting him into their
home.The story ultimately comes down on Edla’s side, however. The peddler does not
steal from the wealthy ironmaster, and even leaves them with the money he stole
from the old crofter. Edla’s kindness and trust apparently showed him an alternate
way of dealing with people, one that is about more than just taking advantage of
each other to get ahead in the “rattrap” of life. This then illustrates Lagerlöf’s
moral point: that even though the world can be an unkind place, people should be
willing to trust each other (within reason) and not give in wholly to cynicism and
opportunism. To be cynical like the peddler at the story’s start is to be alone and
unhappy, and to take advantage of others’ trust, acting immorally in the assumption
that morality is meaningless. The old man seemed to find genuine pleasure in
spending an evening with the peddler, playing cards and talking about his life, and
this brief community was only possible because of the old man’s decision to trust
the peddler. To be trusting like Edla or the old crofter is to put oneself at risk,
but also to truly enjoy the company and friendship of others.

Loneliness and Companionship

Connected to the themes of kindness and trust, “The Rattrap” also explores the
basic human need for companionship and community, and shows the negative effects of
loneliness, whether as a result of poverty, cynicism, or unkindness. At the start
of the story, the peddler leads an incredibly lonely existence, and this affects
him in extremely negative ways, causing him unhappiness and bitterness, and driving
him to steal from and lie to others. Through the peddler’s transformative
interactions with the old man, the ironmaster, and Edla Willmansson, however, the
story shows the importance of human companionship, and suggests that a society
should bring people together rather than isolating them or turning them against
each other.The peddler’s loneliness is largely a result of his poverty and
difficult lifestyle. He wanders the roads by himself, peddling his rattraps,
begging for food and shelter, and sometimes even stealing to survive. Despite all
this, he still can barely “keep body and soul together,” and in general leads a
“sad and monotonous life,” finding pleasure only in thinking negative thoughts
about others and the world in general. This initial portrayal emphasizes the fact
that the peddler is driven to loneliness because he has no other option. He cannot
build any kind of friendships or community as he must always keep moving, and he is
even forced into the opposite of community (stealing from others and then fleeing)
because of his extreme poverty. An unfair society keeps him poor and isolated,
despite the fact that he tries to make a living through work. The story doesn’t
offer much specific social critique, but it does suggest that this is a sorry state
of affairs. Someone like the peddler should not be forced to live such a sad and
lonely life while someone like the wealthy ironmaster enjoys stability and luxury,
and the opportunity to enjoy a community of family and friends.The old crofter is
not as desperately poor as the peddler, but he does still lead a meager, lonely
existence. It’s stated directly that this is the reason he takes in the peddler so
willingly, as he is “happy to get someone to talk to in his loneliness.” The old
man is able to find some brief companionship with the peddler as they talk, play
cards, and smoke together, and it’s clear that this gives him great pleasure. The
story doesn’t state the peddler’s reaction to this evening, as he mostly seems
focused on the money that the crofter later reveals, but it’s likely that he also
enjoys a night of warmth and community, no matter his cynicism, as he too is
obviously lonely.
When Edla Willmansson decides that she wants to the peddler to stay with her and
her father for Christmas Eve, it is largely because she recognizes the man’s
loneliness and wants to give him a brief respite from his isolated existence. In
her speech to the ironmaster she emphasizes this fact, saying that the poor peddler
is not usually “welcome” anywhere, and “wherever he turns he is chased away.” She
knows that people need companionship and pities the peddler for his lonely life.
This pity then leads to her many compassionate acts, which in themselves start to
build a new kind of companionship between her and the peddler. This is shown in the
peddler’s final act of the story, as he leaves a Christmas present—a sign of
friendship—for Edla, and even signs his letter to her as “written with friendship.”
He has been transformed by her kindness and trust, but also simply by the fact of
being around another human being and having positive interactions together.

Identity and Naming

While it is primarily focused on the potential for goodness within people and the
interactions between them, “The Rattrap” also concerns itself with issues of
identity, especially the construction of identity through actions and choices, and
the role that names can play in this process. Ultimately, the story suggests that
identity is a fluid thing, and people can change or be changed to inhabit different
identities based on their choices and the actions of others.
The story itself is told in a somewhat fairy-tale style, without a specific setting
or even specific names for most of the characters. Even the protagonist is only
referred to as “the rattrap peddler,” “the stranger,” or “the tramp.” Other
principle characters are called “the old man” (also referred to as “the crofter”)
and “the ironmaster.” This makes these characters seem almost like archetypes
rather than specific people, and contributes to the story’s feeling of being a folk
tale or myth. The only named characters (other than a brief mention of the master
smith at Ramsjö Ironworks) are Edla Willmansson, who is the ironmaster’s daughter,
and Captain von Stahle, who never actually appears in the story but is the man the
ironmaster mistakes the peddler for, as an old army comrade of his.
It’s notable that Edla and von Stahle are the only two named characters. Edla is
something of a hero in “The Rattrap,” if not the protagonist, for she shows the
greatest compassion and understanding and helps reveal the core of goodness within
the previously cynical, bitter peddler. She takes many specific positive actions in
the story, such as persuading the peddler to come to the manor house, declaring her
desire to provide him with a safe place to stay, and gifting the peddler with a
suit and the offer of returning for Christmas Eve the next year. Actions and
decisions like this give her a sense of identity within the story, one reflected by
the fact that she is also given a name.This idea then shows the importance of the
peddler’s final letter, which he signs as “Captain von Stahle.” He is not really
von Stahle, of course, but it’s suggested that in being transformed by Edla’s
kindness and taking his own positive actions of returning the stolen money and
leaving a rattrap as a Christmas present, the peddler has taken on a new identity
and been given a name to go with it. He has been treated like a “real captain” and
so wants to act like a captain in turn, even symbolically using the title and name
he previously lied about. This doesn’t mean that he now is (or wants to be) an
upper-class leader in the army, but rather someone others might treat with dignity
and kindness, and who can treat others with dignity and kindness in turn.The story
thus suggests that identity is not necessarily fixed, and one’s situation and
choices contribute to the identity a person inhabits at any given time. This then
becomes part of Lagerlöf’s positive message in “The Rattrap”—that people can
change, and that means they can change for the better.