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The Ironmaster
An old man who lets the peddler spend the night at his house. The old man is clearly lonely and glad to have company, and provides the peddler with food, tobacco, and conversation. He used to be a crofter (someone who rents and works a small farm) at Ramsjö Ironworks, but now survives by selling the milk from his “extraordinary” cow. The old man is kind and generous, but the peddler repays his generosity by stealing thirty kronor from him after the crofter shows him where he keeps the money.
The Old Man / The Crofter Quotes in The Rattrap
The The Rattrap quotes below are all either spoken by The Old Man / The Crofter or refer to The Old Man / The Crofter. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
The Rattrap Quotes
As he walked along with the money in his pocket he felt quite pleased with his smartness. He realized, of course, that at first he dared not continue on the public highway, but must turn off the road, into the woods. During the first hours this caused him no difficulty. Later in the day it became worse, for it was a big and confusing forest which he had gotten into […] He walked and walked without coming to the end of the wood, and finally he realized that he had only been walking around in the same part of the forest. All at once he recalled his thoughts about the world and the rattrap. Now his own turn had come. He had let himself be fooled by a bait and had been caught.
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Explanation and Analysis:
The peddler has just stolen the thirty kronor from the crofter, after the old man let the peddler into his home and generously provided him with dinner and a bed. Notably, the peddler initially feels no guilt for what he has done—his cruel act of repaying the old man’s kindness and trust by robbing him of his savings—and is even pleased with himself for seizing what was dangled in front of him. This connects to the peddler’s initial cynical mindset, where he must be opportunistic and even immoral if he is to survive in the harsh “rattrap” of life. There Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Liber
“Honoured and noble Miss,
“Since you have been so nice to me all day long, 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; but you can give back the money to the old man on the roadside, who has the money pouch hanging on the window frame as a bait for poor wanderers.
“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.
“Written with friendship
And high regard,
“Captain von Stahle.”
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Explanation and Analysis:
This is the text of the letter that the peddler leaves for Edla, along with the crofter’s stolen money and a present of a rattrap. These lines also close the story. The letter shows the true extent to which the peddler has been transformed by Edla’s understanding and compassion, and how he has found a new sense of identity for himself in the process, having “been raised to captain” by her kindness. Notably, the peddler doesn’t just return the stolen money, but also leaves as a present the only thing he has to offer: a rattrap. As an upper-class woman, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam. Aliquid is
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The Old Man / The Crofter Character Timeline in The Rattrap
The timeline below shows where the character The Old Man / The Crofter appears in The Rattrap. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Rattrap
...comes to a cottage and decides to ask for shelter. He is greeted by an old man , who welcomes him in and is happy to have someone to talk to. The...
(full context)
...and go their separate ways. Half an hour later, however, the rattrap peddler returns to the crofter ’s cabin. He breaks the window and takes the thirty kronor from the pouch, stuffing...
(full context)
...the manor house, however, the peddler starts to regret his decision. He also regrets stealing the crofter ’s money, and thinks that he is now “sitting in the trap and will never...
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...the way back Edla is upset—at church they learned that one of the ironworks’ old crofters was robbed by a man peddling rattraps. The ironmaster chastises Edla for letting a thief...
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...wrapped package and inside finds a rattrap, a letter, and the thirty kronor stolen from the crofter .
(full context)
...season by a thief.” For this reason, he is leaving the money to return to the crofter , and also a rattrap as a present “from a rat who would have been...
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