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 and Mole wait for what seems like a long time until they hear shuffling on the inside of the door. Then the door opens a few inches, and Badger, gruff and suspicious, warns that he’ll be really angry if this happens again. But when Rat announces himself, Badger’s voice changes dramatically. He invites Rat and Mole into a long, dark, drafty hallway and says it’s not a good night for small animals to be outside. But he leads them to the kitchen, where there’s a fire and supper. The kitchen is large, with a roaring fire, two benches, and a massive trestle table. Hams and onions hang from the ceiling. Badger fetches dressing gowns and slippers so his friends can change out of their wet clothes, and he bandages Mole’s injured leg.
The way Badger initially opens the door may indicate that Rat was right to warn Mole about the Wild Wood’s inhabitants—Badger seems to expect that his caller is playing a rude trick on him, meaning that he doesn’t expect his fellow Wild Wood residents to be particularly polite or kind. Badger’s home, meanwhile, reflects his personality: the dark, almost frightening hallway mirrors Badger’s gruff exterior—but inside, as evidenced by the warm, bright kitchen, Badger is a caring and generous animal. It’s extremely important to him to make sure that his friends are warm and fed, and that they receive the medical attention they need.
Themes
Literary Devices
When Mole and Rat are warm, Badger calls them to the feast he’s laid out on the table. Nobody speaks for a while as they eat (and when they do speak, their mouths are full), and Mole and Rat put their elbows on the table. Badger doesn’t think this matters since he doesn’t go into “Society” much, but the narrator assures readers that manners do matter. Finally, Mole and Rat tell Badger their story. Badger listens without judging them for their bad decisions.
The novel frames Badger as an older gentleman who, because he’s wealthy and respected, can get away with behaving however he wants. Table manners aren’t important to him like they are to his friends (or, per the narrator, like they should be to readers). But though the narrator insists manners do matter, the narrator also implies that being a kind and generous person is more important than keeping one’s elbows off the table.
Themes
Literary Devices
When supper is over, Badger leads his friends back to the fire and asks for news from the river, and specifically of Toad. Rat says things are bad—Toad had yet another crash last week. Toad refuses to hire a driver. He’s had seven cars and seven crashes now, and Mole adds that Toad has been in the hospital three times. He’s also had to pay lots of fines. Rat observes that Toad is rich but not a millionaire. Unless they step in and intervene, as Toad’s friends, Toad is going to ruin his life or get himself killed. Badger severely says that they can’t do anything now (animal etiquette insists that nobody does anything strenuous during winter), but he promises that once summer comes, they’ll force Toad to be reasonable.
Toad is engaging in risky behavior and is getting in trouble for it—but those consequences (like fines and ending up in the hospital) aren’t enough to change his behavior. In light of this, Rat and Badger decide that it’s their responsibility, as Toad’s friends, to help him change his ways and become a better person. But while they insist they’re obligated to help their friend, they’re also bound by animal etiquette and the rules that guide seasonally appropriate behavior. So, their intervention will have to wait a bit longer.
Themes
Badger notices Rat nodding off. Mole laughs—he’s not tired, and though he can’t identify why, it’s because he’s an animal who’s supposed to be underground. Unlike Rat, he finds Badger’s underground house invigorating. Badger fetches candles and shows Rat and Mole to a long room. Half of it is a storeroom, and the other half is a bedroom. Rat and Mole fall into bed and follow Badger’s instructions to not bother getting up too early in the morning.
This visit to Badger’s house helps show Mole that he and Badger have more in common than they might have thought at first, by virtue of being animals who naturally live underground. In a way, Mole is going against his true nature as a mole (moles, of course, normally live underground) to live on the river with Rat, even though the novel implies that Mole is happier in his new home, with friends, than he was before.
Themes
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When Rat and Mole enter the kitchen late the next morning, there are two young hedgehogs eating oatmeal at the table. The youngsters stand and nod respectfully to Rat and Mole, and one—Billy—explains that they got stuck in the snow on the way to school. They knocked on Badger’s door, since everyone knows he’s a kind gentleman. The hedgehogs explain that the weather is terrible, and that Badger is busy in his study. Everyone knows that Badger is actually just “busy” napping, but this is totally appropriate for an animal this time of year.
The young hedgehogs’ story of calling on Badger for help cements Badger’s reputation as a kind and generous animal, willing to help anyone and everyone. In this way, although he, like Toad, is wealthy, he doesn’t use his status as an excuse to treat other animals poorly. In return for his help, the hedgehogs, Rat, and Mole show Badger respect by not interrupting his busy nap schedule. The hedgehogs also suggest that nature is something to respect and be wary of at this time of year; it can make life difficult for anyone, even those who live in the Wild Wood.
Themes
The doorbell rings. Since Rat is busy eating buttered toast, he sends Billy to get it. Billy returns with Otter, who throws himself on Rat—everyone on the riverbank has been worried about Rat, but Otter was certain Rat ended up at Badger’s. The snow outside is terrible; Otter had fun playing in it, but it was surely terrifying. There are so many birds out. Otter came across a rabbit who only told him about Rat’s whereabouts after Otter cuffed his ears. The rabbit shared that “They” were out hunting Rat and Mole and scoffed when Otter asked why he didn’t help Rat and Mole. When Mole asks, Otter says he wasn’t scared and shows his gleaming teeth.
Otter makes it clear in this passage that he runs in different circles than Rat and Mole do. Otter’s character was modeled after British street vendors, and so it’s implied that he’s of a lower class than Rat, Mole, and Badger. It’s obvious to other animals that he’s not someone to mess with, since he’s a big animal with sharp teeth—and big, important friends, like Badger. Otter also demonstrates his power by cuffing the rabbit’s ears to get information; he isn’t afraid to demand what he wants by any means necessary.
Themes
Badger comes into the kitchen a bit later, greets everyone kindly, and invites Otter to stay for lunch. Then he sends the young hedgehogs home with pocket money. Over lunch, Mole and Badger talk about living underground. Badger beams as Mole describes how at home he feels here, and how being underground allows an animal to forget the outside world. Badger adds that underground, if you want more space, you just dig a new room, and you never have to worry about weather ruining your house.
There seems to be no reason for Badger to give the hedgehogs money, except that he’s kind and generous. Again, he uses his wealth to help others rather than to lord over them or make them feel inferior. The other characters’ high opinion of him suggests that he (unlike Toad) is someone readers should admire and emulate. What Mole says about being able to forget the outside world when one is underground suggests that on some level, he sees being underground (or, more generally, withdrawing from society) as restorative.
Themes
After lunch, Badger takes Mole on a tour of his house. Mole is in awe of the size and scale, but Badger explains that this spot used to be a human city, and that his house uses elements the humans built. Nobody knows exactly what happened to the people, but they left over time, and the woods took over the land. The animals, Badger says, will always be waiting to move back into their rightful homes. He notes that now, all sorts live in the Wild Wood, which makes Mole shudder. Badger promises to send word around; nobody will intimidate his friends.
Given that The Wind in the Willows takes place in early 20th-centry Britain, the fact that humans gradually left the woods likely reflects Britain’s gradual transition from agrarian to urbanized over the preceding century. In suggesting that the woods rightfully belong to the animals, Badger characterizes humans (and the modern industrialized world they represent) as invaders rather than peaceful neighbors. This attitude is meant to make readers question how they, as humans, view nature—and how their actions affect the landscape and the animals who live there.
Themes
When Badger and Mole return to the kitchen, Rat is pacing restlessly; being underground is emotionally difficult for him. Rat is dressed and ready to go, and Otter explains that they’ll be safe since he’s going to walk them home. Badger notes that his passages run all through the woods, so Rat and Mole can leave by a shortcut. Presently, he leads them down a damp, winding tunnel, says goodbye quickly, and covers the tunnel entrance with dead leaves. Rat, Mole, and Otter are on the edge of the Wild Wood. Otter leads them across the fields and away from the “dense, menacing” Wild Wood. Mole realizes that he belongs in the fields and pastures. Those places aren’t “Nature in the rough,” but there’s enough adventure to be had.
Otter shows himself to be a devoted, caring friend (much like Badger) when he insists on walking Rat and Mole home. For Mole, the trip into the Wild Wood is transformative. As he noted earlier, he learned that he should listen to Rat’s advice. But now, he also realizes that he’s not interested in venturing into new places that are so “dense” and “menacing.” Instead, places like the fields and pastures offer adventure without having to sacrifice the safety and security of being close to home.
Themes
