Author
Swedish author and
teacher.
Born-20 November
1858 Marbacka.
Swedian language :
Swedish.
Died: 16 March
1940 Marbacka.
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.
Edla Willmansson – daughter of the Iron
Mill owner.
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.
mary
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.
By- Divyansh Tiwari
