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
A small wren is still singing, even though it’s past 10 p.m. It’s been a hot day, and Mole is stretched out on the bank, trying to cool off. Minutes later, Rat returns from a day spent with Otter. He’s clearly preoccupied. Rat explains that the otters tried to serve him a pleasant dinner, but Rat felt terrible—Otter’s son Portly is missing again, and the family is worried. Mole notes that Portly always goes missing, but other animals take care of him, and he always comes home. Rat explains that it’s different this time: Portly has been gone for days and doesn’t yet know how to swim well. Otter is concerned about the weir, since the snowmelt is still coming fast, and there are traps around. Otter has been spending nights by the ford, a favorite spot of Portly’s.
Mole and Rat’s concern about Portly’s disappearance exemplifies how close-knit their community is. Moreover, it again speaks to the idea that the natural world isn’t always delightful and protective—it can also be dangerous. A weir is a type of small dam; it may make the water deeper and more dangerous, especially if snowmelt is causing water levels to rise anyway. These fears about how the river might end up hurting Portly outweigh what Mole has to say: that the community will look out for Portly and ensure that no harm comes to him.
Themes
Rat and Mole sit in silence, thinking of poor Otter. Then, Mole says he can’t possibly go to bed—they should go out and look for Portly by moonlight. Rat agrees, so they fetch the boat and head out. Rat paddles cautiously; the dark shadows make the river difficult to navigate, and there seem to be strange voices speaking. Things become less frightening when the moon rises, casting everything in a warm white glow. Rat ties the boat to a willow so he and Mole can search one bank first, and then the other. Finally, the moon sets.
For Rat and Mole, it’s obvious that they must help Otter by going out to look for Portly. This shows how unselfish the two of them are, as they’re more than willing to lose out on a night of sleep to help. At night, the river and the banks are much less inviting, again suggesting that nature can be fearsome as well as beautiful and enjoyable.
Themes
Literary Devices
It’s dark and scary again for a while, and then faint light illuminates the landscape. Everything is still until a breeze rustles the rushes. Suddenly, Rat sits straight up and then lays back. He says he heard something so beautiful, he wishes he hadn’t heard it—not hearing it now is painful. He hears the sound again and explains to Mole that he can hear piping in the distance. Mole is a bit confused, but he rows when Rat tells him to. All he can hear is the wind. Listening, Rat guides Mole along a stream and into a backwater, until they come to a bunch of flowers on the bank. At this point, Mole can hear the music too. He understands why Rat is crying. The melody is intoxicating and seems to summon the friends.
As the river cycles from frightening to inviting and back again, it suggests that nature is never just good or bad—it can be either, and it’s sometimes both. Things get a little stranger when Rat starts to hear the piping. This introduces a mystical, spiritual element to the novel—Rat could be hearing something akin to the titular wind in the willows, or there could be an actual being making this music. Either way, Mole and Rat’s reaction shows how much they revere nature. They’re willing to submit to nature’s power and come when it calls, just as Mole obeyed the summons to leave his underground home at the beginning of the novel.
Themes
The flowers seem more vividly colored and strongly scented than usual. After a bit, Rat and Mole come upon the weir, which turns the water green and makes it foamy where it dams the river. In the middle of the stream there’s a small island covered in trees. They land the boat silently and then climb up the bank to where fruit trees circle a green lawn. Rat says that they’ll find Him here—and Mole suddenly feels overcome with awe. He drops to his knees, feeling at peace. Rat looks terrified. Mole knows he can’t refuse the summons, so he looks up. Ahead is the “Friend and Helper,” with curved horns, kind eyes, muscled arms, and pan pipes. Nestled between his hooves is Portly.
The “Friend and Helper” is Pan, a Greek demigod who’s half human and half goat. Pan oversees nature, among other things. Encountering him on this island, with Portly sleeping between his hooves, suggests that nature can be a protective force. For those who obey “the summons,” respect nature, and look at it with awe, the novel suggests that nature will give back and be helpful. But personifying nature like this also speaks to how powerful nature is. Pan doesn’t have to protect Portly—his protection isn’t guaranteed.
Themes
Literary Devices
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Mole and Rat bow their heads and worship as the sun peeks over the horizon. When they look up, the “Vision” is gone, and birds are singing. They’re suddenly miserable—but then a breeze blows on their faces, and they forget what they saw. Dazed, Mole and Rat look at each other again and then notice Portly. Rat heads for the baby otter, while Mole tries once more to remember his wonderful dream. But he shakes his head and continues on.
The omniscient third-person narration in this passage clues readers in to the fact that Pan has probably wiped Mole and Rat’s memories of the encounter. This plunges them back into the real, tangible world and their task at hand: getting Portly home safe. For now, their desire to help is fighting with their desire to figure out what happened and recapture the magic of a few minutes ago.
Themes
Literary Devices
Portly wakes up and is, at first, thrilled to see Mole and Rat. But then he becomes anxious, as children who wake up in strange places tend to be. Mole comforts Portly while Rat inspects deep hoof marks in the grass. But Mole calls Rat back to their task, and they promise Portly a ride in Rat’s boat. They set off soon after. To Mole and Rat, the world is lovely but seems less rich than it did a while ago. Rat steers for where he knows Otter is waiting, and when they’re in sight of their friend, Mole lifts Portly onto dry land. Rat and Mole watch the father and son embrace and then head home.
Mole and Rat have just had a religious experience, so it makes sense that the world around them doesn’t seem quite as bright as it did not long ago—seeing Pan changed their perspective. But they remain dedicated to their task of helping Portly and Otter, showing that Rat and Mole’s top priority is to serve their neighbors.
Themes
Mole is exhausted, but he insists it’s not that he was up all night. Rat says he feels like he just experienced something “very surprising and splendid and beautiful,” but he also can’t remember what. They can still hear some music in the reeds, and Rat can even pick out some words. He can hear the singer saying that he helps people but makes them forget so they don’t descend into unhappiness. Rat hears a few more verses but then loses the thread. Mole realizes a moment later that Rat is fast asleep.
Readers are aware that Rat and Mole just had a mystical, spiritual experience, but neither of them remember this. In the song Rat hears (which is presumably Pan’s song), readers learn why: Pan wants people to be happy, and after seeing how awe-inspiring he is, nothing else will be quite as good and it’ll be harder to enjoy life. He must be a mostly unseen presence to ensure that people continue to appreciate nature. In this way, the novel suggests that the natural world—rather than the spiritual realm—is where beings should direct their focus.
Themes
