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
It’s early summer now, and Mole and Rat are having breakfast and discussing what to do with their day. There’s a knock at the door, and Mole leads Badger into the kitchen. This is a big deal—Badger doesn’t usually call on other animals. Badger stares at Mole and Rat and then announces, “The hour has come!” Rat is confused, but Badger says it’s time to “take [Toad] in hand,” as they discussed in the winter. Badger says he’s heard that a new car is arriving at Toad Hall today. Toad is surely getting dressed in the “hideous” clothes that turn him from a toad to a violent creature, and it’s up to the three of them to “rescue” Toad.
In this passage, it’s easy to see how powerful nature is—the seasons dictate when Badger can appropriately intervene in Toad’s shenanigans. The way Badger describes Toad in this passage makes it clear that he sees cars as a corrupting force that makes Toad uncivilized and dangerous. He also insists that as Toad’s friends, it’s their responsibility to help him be better.
Themes
Badger leads the way down the road. He, Mole, and Rat walk single file, which is how groups of animals are supposed to walk. When they reach Toad Hall, there’s a big red car in the driveway. Toad rushes out the front door, dressed in goggles, a cap, gaiters, and a huge overcoat. He sees his friends and starts to invite them to come along, but he falters when he notices their expressions. Badger tells Rat and Mole to bring Toad inside and then tells the chauffeur to take the car back. Then, Badger tells Toad to take off his ridiculous clothes. When Toad refuses, Rat and Mole take the garments off of Toad.
The note that Badger, Mole, and Rat are walking properly down the road and following animal etiquette contrasts with Toad’s behavior. Toad’s love of cars is framed as selfish and a reflection of his arrogance and lack of concern for others. When he’s driving, as Badger and Rat have discussed already, Toad doesn’t follow any rules. Badger can easily send the car back and overpower Toad, which again makes it clear that he’s a powerful, respected figure in the community.
Themes
Toad giggles, seeming to understand what’s going on. Badger scolds Toad for squandering his father’s money and for ruining all the animals’ reputations by driving terribly, crashing his car, and fighting with the police. He leads Toad into the smoking room for a more hard-hitting conversation. As soon as they’re gone, Rat scoffs that a conversation will never work. But he and Mole sit and listen to Toad sob, and 45 minutes later, Toad and Badger come back out. Badger announces that Toad has vowed to give up cars forever. The only thing left is for Toad to apologize to his friends and admit he was silly for getting involved with cars at all.
Badger is essentially accusing Toad of hurting his friends and endangering the community by continuing to drive so recklessly, but Toad isn’t taking these concerns seriously. Badger suggests that Toad also isn’t doing what’s necessary to appropriately honor his father’s memory. To Badger, the solution is obvious: as Toad’s friend, he believes that it’s his responsibility to point out Toad’s bad behavior and try to force Toad to apologize and change his ways.
Themes
Toad is silent—and then says that he’s not sorry, and that cars are “glorious,” not silly. Badger is perplexed, but Toad says he’ll say anything under pressure. He’s not sorry, and he definitely won’t promise to never touch a car again. Indeed, he can only promise that he’ll drive off in the first car he sees. Badger stands and says he knew it would come to this: he, Mole, and Rat will now stay in the house to supervise Toad until Toad sees the error of his ways. Rat and Mole take Toad upstairs and lock him in the bedroom, promising that this will be fun once Toad is over this “painful attack.” After this, Toad won’t waste his money, and he won’t have to be ordered around by female nurses in the hospital ever again.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Toad is unwilling to cooperate. He’s so selfish that everything Badger told him is going in one ear and out the other—all he cares about is the control and power he feels when driving a car. But Toad’s experience in the hospital (being bossed around by female nurses) suggests that Toad’s power behind the wheel isn’t actually so absolute. Indeed, when he inevitably crashes, he winds up in a place where someone the novel implies is normally less powerful—a woman—can boss Toad around.
Themes
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Badger, Mole, and Rat arrange to watch Toad in shifts. At first, Toad seems to try to upset them by arranging chairs into a car shape and pretending to drive, making “ghastly” noises. But as time goes on, Toad becomes depressed. One morning, when Rat relieves Badger, Badger warns Rat that Toad isn’t to be trusted—Toad is still in bed and seems too subdued to be true. Badger leaves to go for a walk as Rat sits by Toad’s bedside. Without thinking, Rat reveals that Mole has gone out with Badger. Toad insists he can’t possibly get out of bed—he won’t be around much longer. It seems too much to ask to request that Rat fetch the doctor, and perhaps a lawyer as well.
Just as when he’s in the hospital, Toad is powerless now that his friends are keeping him under house arrest. But Toad also isn’t being mature about—pretending to drive and making the “ghastly” noises reads as childish, which in turn suggests that Toad really does need this kind of supervision. From this passage, it’s clear that the friendship dynamic between Toad and the others is somewhat warped: Toad is more like a child in need of parenting than an equal, which is taxing on his friends.
Themes
The request for the lawyer disturbs Rat, so he leaves immediately for the village. Toad, of course, isn’t ill at all, so as soon as he sees Rat leave, he gets dressed and ties a rope out of sheets. He climbs out his window and heads in the opposite direction as Rat did. When Badger and Mole return and discover what happened, Badger brutally scolds Rat. He says they should stay at Toad Hall for a bit longer, since there’s no telling when Toad will return on a stretcher, or escorted by police. Toad no doubt thinks he’s very clever, so he might do any silly thing.
Toad has no interest in accepting his friends’ help at this point. So, he prioritizes his own desires—and he doesn’t express any remorse that Rat is going to get in serious trouble with Badger. But even as Toad rejects his friends’ help, Badger insists that they can’t give up. They may have failed to control Toad this time, but Badger knows it’s essential that they be here for Toad and help pick up the pieces whenever he does return home.
Themes
Toad, “gay and irresponsible,” is walking along the road miles away from home. He’s very pleased with himself; it seems like nature is singing a song praising him. He sighs that Rat isn’t smart at all. When he returns, he should try to remedy that. As Toad marches along, thinking these conceited thoughts, he spots an inn and realizes he hasn’t eaten breakfast. He stops in and orders a huge luncheon. Halfway through the meal, he hears his favorite sound: poop-poop! Toad hears the car turn into the yard and tries to control his emotions. The party from the car comes into the coffee room, and Toad can’t stand it. He pays his bill and goes outside to inspect the car.
Right now, Toad seems to think that his friends are just trying to spoil his fun. He doesn’t understand that they’re trying to help him because he’s so conceited and cares only about what he wants, no matter the consequences. The passage highlights this when Toad hears the car pull into the inn and can’t control himself. Toad is motivated by his overwhelming desire to be behind the wheel of a car, and it seems likely that this is going to lead to disaster.
Themes
There’s nobody watching the car. Before Toad knows it, passion seizes him, and he’s driving down the road as fast as the car can go. Toad is the “the terror, the traffic-queller, the Lord of the lone trail.” He doesn’t know where he’s going—he’s just recklessly following his instincts.
By stealing this car, Toad shows that he doesn’t respect other people or their belongings. Indeed, he seems proud of his crime, bragging that he’s “the Lord” of the road. The novel suggests that it’s his instinct to act this way—it’s something innate to Toad, meaning that he’ll have to learn to say no to these urges at some point.
Themes
Literary Devices
Later, Toad stands trial: the Chairman of the Bench of Magistrates states that Toad has been found guilty of stealing a car, of endangering the public with his driving, and of “gross impertinence” to the police. The clerk lists his suggested sentences for each offense and suggests a total of 20 years in prison. The Chairman sentences Toad to 20 years, and “brutal minions” chain Toad. They drag him across the marketplace, where people throw vegetables and insults at him (they all love seeing “a gentleman in difficulties”). They take Toad into ancient towers and down stairs until they reach a dark dungeon kept by an ancient gaoler (jailer). The gaoler obediently locks Toad in a cell.
Since Toad’s friends weren’t successful in containing him, Toad now has to face serious legal consequences for his actions. All of Toad’s crimes have to do with not using his manners and disrespecting others, and for these crimes, Toad is removed from society. The note that people love seeing a gentleman in trouble suggests that wealthy animals like Toad do attract ire from the lower classes—though given how the other animals respect and admire Badger, it seems likely that Toad’s arrogant attitude is more offensive than his wealth in and of itself.
Themes
