Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Wind in the Willows, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Friendship and Mentorship
Manners, Conduct, and Consequences
Nature, Leisure, and the Modern World
Home, Identity, and Adventure
Greed, Arrogance, and Social Class
Summary
Analysis
Rat pulls Toad out of the river by his scruff. Toad is relieved and happy—at his friend’s house, he won’t have to worry about being caught or about trying to be a lowly washerwoman. Immediately, in a shout, Toad starts to tell Rat about his exploits. But Rat very seriously tells Toad to go clean up and change so he looks like a gentleman. Then they can talk. Toad considers arguing but then sees himself in a mirror and heads right upstairs. In clean clothes, Toad thinks everyone was an “idiot” for ever mistaking him for a washerwoman.
Toad assumes that Rat won’t just be thrilled that he escaped, but that Rat also won’t try to turn Toad in. While it’s still unclear whether Rat is going to report Toad, it seems pretty clear he doesn’t approve of what Toad has been up to. None of this really gets through to Toad, though, as he now feels safe and so is back to being full of himself. He belittles all the people who helped him when he suggests they were “idiots” for believing his washerwoman disguise.
Themes
Downstairs, Rat has lunch ready on the table. As Toad eats greedily, he tells Rat about his adventures, focusing on his cleverness and boasting. But Rat becomes more and more serious. Finally, when Toad is done talking, Rat asks if Toad doesn’t see that he’s made a fool of himself. Does he really think being imprisoned, insulted, and thrown into the water by a woman is amusing? And all because he needed to steal a car? Cars are nothing but trouble, but does Toad really need to steal them? It would be better to be bankrupt than a convict. Also, this reflects terribly on Toad’s friends—Rat is getting tired of people saying he spends time with jailbirds.
Toad wants to impress, and he wants Rat to praise him. But Rat does the exact opposite: he’s not impressed, and he’s not going to dance around the fact that he’s really upset with Toad’s behavior. Per Rat, Toad’s adventure home wasn’t fun (and indeed, Toad spent much of the journey cold, hungry, and worried he wouldn’t make it), and it’s silly to pretend it was. Rat also tries to appeal to Toad by reminding him that his bad behavior causes bad things to happen to his friends—Rat’s reputation is suffering.
Themes
Fortunately, Toad has a good heart. Though he genuinely thinks his exploits were fun and has to work hard to suppress strange noises (like “poop-poop!”), he sighs and says Rat is right. He’s done with cars after his dip in the river, though he has another idea related to cars. Seeing Rat recoil, Toad says they can talk about it later—but for now, he’d like to have coffee with Rat and then stroll home to live a quiet, respectable life. He wants to entertain his friends, not go on adventures.
Toad knows what he’s supposed to say here (that he’s done with cars and wants to live a respectable life), and so he says it. He also appeals to Rat’s sense of responsibility to his friends by saying that he, too, wants to just entertain those he loves. But it seems clear that Toad doesn’t really mean it. If Toad thinks his adventure was fun and nothing to be ashamed of, he’ll see no problem with doing it again.
Themes
Suddenly excited, Rat shouts that clearly, Toad hasn’t heard: the stoats and the weasels have taken over Toad Hall. Rat explains that when Toad was imprisoned, everyone gossiped. Everyone on the river stuck up for Toad, but animals in the Wild Wood said Toad got what he deserved and was never coming back. Badger and Mole tried to defend Toad to other animals, and they also moved into Toad Hall to make sure it was ready for Toad when he returned. Well, one dark night, armed weasels, ferrets, and stoats stormed Toad Hall. Badger and Mole couldn’t hold them back. Wild Wooders have been living at Toad Hall since then, apparently making a mess, sleeping in late, and singing vulgar songs. They tell people they plan to stay for good.
Here, Toad discovers another unexpected consequence to being imprisoned for stealing the car. He’s essentially been kicked out of his own home because nobody respects him anymore. Interestingly, though, the stoats and weasels are treating Toad’s home with about the same amount of regard as Toad treats other people’s belongings. Just as Toad didn’t worry about taking care of the car he stole, the stoats and weasels don’t seem to care about keeping Toad Hall looking nice. In this way, Toad is getting a taste of his own medicine.
Themes
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At this, Toad gets up and says he’ll go get rid of them, refusing to listen to Rat’s warnings. He marches to his gate with a big stick, where he encounters a ferret. As he starts to sputter at the ferret, the ferret lifts a gun and shoots at him. Fortunately, Toad drops to the ground, so the bullet doesn’t hit him. He scampers back to Rat’s house. Rat says it’s no good to try again, but Toad takes Rat’s boat up the river anyway. From the river, Toad Hall looks tranquil and deserted—until, when Toad is under the bridge, a boulder falls through the front of the boat. The boat sinks, and Toad looks up to see two laughing stoats. He heads back to Rat’s house again.
As Toad attempts to get his house back all on his own, he has to confront the consequences of no longer being respected in the community. Indeed, as he goes out and puts himself in danger, he ignores Rat’s warnings. Toad is still too full of himself to listen to Rat, who’s been here the whole time and so has a better understanding of the situation. There’s also no clear indication that Toad asks permission to take Rat’s boat, which is another way he disrespects his friend.
Themes
Rat angrily says that he told Toad what would happen—and now, Toad has ruined one of Rat’s suits and lost his favorite boat. Rat snaps that it’s a wonder Toad keeps friends at all. Toad immediately apologizes and promises to seek Rat’s approval for everything he does going forward. Appeased, Rat tells Toad to sit down for supper and be patient. They can’t do anything until they’ve spoken with Mole and Badger. Toad realizes he hasn’t asked after his friends. Rat explains that while Toad was out gallivanting, Badger and Mole have been camping and keeping an eye on Toad Hall, planning how to get it back. Rat says that Toad really doesn’t deserve such loyal friends.
While Rat softened his language somewhat earlier in the novel, he’s done worrying about hurting Toad’s feelings. Now, he’s honest about the fact that Toad is being rude, entitled, and selfish—and Rat doesn’t like it. This has some effect on Toad, as Toad seems to remember that he should be polite and take an interest in his friends’ well-being. But Rat uses this as yet another opportunity to point out Toad’s flaws and all the ways in which Toad is falling short of being a good friend.
Themes
Toad sobs and agrees with Rat—until he hears supper dishes on a tray and is immediately distracted. Rat reminds himself that Toad has been eating prison food for a while, so he encourages Toad to eat. Then, after supper, someone knocks on the door. It’s Badger, and Badger looks like he’s been away from home for some time. He’s muddy and tousled, but he grips Toad and welcomes him home. Badger then serves himself cold pie. Toad is concerned, but Rat says that Badger is always a bit short when he’s hungry. Not long after, Mole lets himself in and immediately dances around Toad. He says Toad must be clever to have gotten away.
This passage highlights Toad’s selfishness by showing that Toad cares more about getting a warm meal than he does about changing his ways to be a better friend. It’s also significant that Toad is so put off by Badger’s gruff entrance. Toad seems to expect people to always be polite and warm to him, so it’s a shock when Badger isn’t. Once again, Toad expects politeness and kindness that he only occasionally shows others, which reflects his selfishness.
Themes
Rat tugs on Mole’s sleeve, but it’s too late. Toad puffs up and says his friends don’t think he’s clever—but he escaped from the strongest prison in the country, captured a train, and took advantage of people with his disguise. Mole says he’d love to hear the story while he eats. But as Toad pulls out his coins and says he got them dealing horses, Rat grumpily tells him to be quiet. He asks Mole for an update, and Mole says little has changed: the sentries throw stones and laugh at them. Deep in thought, Rat starts to say what Toad should do. But Mole interjects with what he thinks Toad should do, and Toad interrupts that nobody can order him around.
Mole has matured a lot over the course of the novel, but he’s still younger than his friends and is easily enchanted by wild stories like Toad’s. In addition, he doesn’t quite grasp the importance of not encouraging Toad in the moment. So, Mole is something of an enabler for Toad—someone is excited about what he’s experienced rather than disapproving. But the problem of taking back Toad Hall is more important than any of this, which is why their argument about their plan takes over the conversation.
Themes
Badger tells Rat, Mole, and Toad to be quiet. Once he has their attention, he makes them wait quietly while he finishes eating. Then, he turns to Toad, scolds him, and says that Toad’s father would be ashamed. When Toad sobs, Badger says they can forget the past. But they still have to figure out how to take Toad Hall, and they can’t just storm it. Badger says he has a secret: there’s an underground passage leading from the riverbank to the middle of Toad Hall. Toad is dismissive, but Badger says that Toad’s father told him about it. Toad’s father made Badger swear to not tell Toad about it except in case of emergency, since Toad can’t keep secrets.
Badger demonstrates his power over his friends yet again by stopping their fight instantly—and then making them wait until he’s ready to engage. As Badger turns to Toad, he again suggests that Toad needs to make his friends and family members proud by exhibiting good behavior. Toad then has to confront that he doesn’t know everything, and that he might not be as important as he thought, when Badger shares this secret about the underground tunnel. Toad’s father seems to have known that Toad would abuse this knowledge.
Themes
Toad sulks for a moment, and then acknowledges that he has “the gift of conversation.” Badger then explains that Otter disguised himself as a sweep and went to Toad Hall. He learned that the Chief Weasel’s birthday is tomorrow night, so everyone will be in the dining hall—unarmed. There will be sentinels, of course, but fortunately the passage leads into the butler’s pantry. They can then jump out and scare the weasels out of Toad Hall. With the plan settled, Badger sends everyone to bed.
Toad frames the fact that he can’t keep secrets as “the gift of conversation,” which shows just how unwilling he is to admit his faults. Even when his friends explicitly point out his faults, he refuses to see them as faults. This helps explain why he’s so averse to changing his ways: he refuses to recognize that he isn’t perfect.
Themes
Toad is, at first, too excited to sleep, but he soon falls asleep and dreams of winding up in Toad Hall, triumphant and with friends willing to praise his cleverness. By the time he wakes up late in the morning, everyone else is done with breakfast. Mole is out, Badger is reading, and Rat is busily divvying up weapons. Toad picks up a big stick, swings it, and says he’s going to “learn ‘em.” Rat scolds him; “learn ‘em” isn’t good English. Badger says it’s fine English, and anyway, they want to “learn ‘em,” not “teach ‘em.” Rat isn’t convinced, but he defers to Badger.
The narrator’s tone suggests that it’s considered rude for Toad to wake up so late when all his friends are up and about their business so early. But, again, Toad doesn’t seem to see an issue with this because he only cares about himself. And whereas Rat coaches Toad on his grammar, Badger doesn’t value propriety as much as the other animals—and others allow him to do want he wants because he’s so well-respected and wealthy.
Themes
Soon after, Mole tumbles in the door. He says he’s been pestering the stoats. He put on Toad’s washerwoman outfit and went to Toad Hall, where he teased the sentries. Toad praises Mole, but privately, he’s jealous—he would’ve done what Mole did, if only he’d thought of it first and hadn’t overslept. Mole continues his story and says that when the sergeant came up, he said that tonight, a hundred bloodthirsty badgers, boats of rats, and armies of toads will storm Toad Hall to take it back. Mole ran away then, but he peeked back, and the sentries were clearly nervous. Toad laments that Mole spoiled everything, but Badger says Toad has no sense. Mole did wonderfully. This makes Toad jealous again.
Toad desperately wants to be the smartest, most cunning animal in his friend group, which is why he scolds Mole for tricking the stoats. But Toad isn’t as clever as he thinks he is, so he doesn’t understand what actually happened here (Mole has convinced the stoats that many foes are coming from outside of Toad Hall, when really, four foes are going to take Toad Hall from the inside). Badger’s reprimand stings because Toad wants to impress him. Praising Mole also establishes him as someone Toad should emulate.
Themes
The bell rings for lunch, so everyone eats, and then Badger excuses himself to take a nap. Rat resumes his weapon preparations, while Mole takes Toad outside and asks Toad to tell him about his adventures. Mole is a good listener, and Toad gladly tells his story—but it’s not truthful. It’s more the story of what might have happened if Toad had thought of things in time, but that’s what makes a good story, after all.
The lunch bell is the first indication that Rat employs kitchen servants, which marks him as wealthy. As the narrator assesses the story Toad tells Mole, they suggest that stories don’t have to be true to be valuable—an outlandish but entertaining story is still worth telling. Nevertheless, Rat has suggested that Toad shouldn’t be praised for dramatic, heroic things he didn’t ever do, as this praise just enables his reckless behavior.
Themes
