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
When it gets dark, Rat calls everyone to the parlor and arms his friends with all manner of weapons. Badger laughs and then instructs everyone to follow him, Mole first, then Rat, and then Toad. He leads everyone down the river and then swings down into a hole. The others follow—though Toad falls into the river. Badger is angry and threatens to leave Toad behind if something happens again. Toad shivers and follows at a distance. But when the lantern gets far away, and Rat whispers for Toad to hurry up, Toad panics. He rushes forward, running into Rat and knocking Mole into Badger. Not knowing what happened, Badger pulls a pistol. He’s enraged when he realizes what happened and barely agrees to let Toad continue with them.
For Toad, this expedition is both exciting and terrifying. He wants to please Badger, but Toad isn’t very athletic and struggles to just do as he’s told. This is because Toad isn’t used to taking orders from anyone, let alone someone like Badger, whom he wants to impress—as the owner of a grand house like Toad Hall, Toad is usually the one bossing other people around. So, this expedition is an opportunity for Badger to teach Toad that he doesn’t have to be in charge all the time. Sometimes, it’s okay to give others the limelight.
Themes
After a while, Badger says they must be under Toad Hall. They can suddenly hear cheering and stamping, and the passage starts to slope up. The celebratory noise gets more distinct as Badger reaches the trapdoor. The friends push it open and climb up into the pantry, which opens right onto the hall. As the cheering in the hall subsides, the voice of the Chief Weasel says he’d like to thank Toad for his hospitality. He’s written a song to thank Toad—but just as he begins to sing, Badger flings the door open.
The Chief Weasel is, of course, being sarcastic and rude when he thanks Toad for his hospitality. Toad hasn’t given the weasels permission to be here, and they’re stealing from him by eating his food. But again, Toad has done similar things to other people—yet he can only recognize this kind of behavior as bad when someone else treats him this way.
Themes
The terrified weasels dive under tables and out windows. China crashes as Badger, Mole, Rat, and Toad shout their war cries and swing their sticks. Most of the weasels flee, leaving a dozen or so captured on the floor. Badger praises Mole and sends him outside to deal with the sentries, and then he sits. He’s hungry, and Toad hasn’t offered anyone food yet. Toad is hurt. Why isn’t Badger praising him? But Toad and Rat scrounge up some food. Just as they sit down to eat, Mole comes back and says that the sentries are no longer an issue. Most rolled into the river, and Mole took their guns.
Since Toad’s friends did the hard work of making the plan to take Toad Hall back, Badger implies that the least Toad could do is thank them by feeding them. Toad sees things differently, though: he no doubt thinks he was very brave for participating at all, and so he should be the one receiving praise and supper. He’s still thinking of himself first.
Themes
Badger praises Mole again and then asks him to do one more task: Mole is to take the captured weasels upstairs and supervise them as they make up four bedrooms. Mole can whip them if they don’t obey, and he should kick them out when they’re done. Mole promptly takes the prisoners upstairs and returns soon after. He says the weasels were very apologetic, blamed everything on the Chief Weasel, and said they’ll make it up for their ill conduct at any time. He sent them away with bread. As Mole digs in to his food, Toad swallows his jealousy like a gentleman and thanks Mole for his help. Badger praises Toad.
Mole has been gracious and deferential to Badger, which is part of the reason Badger is giving Mole more responsibility and praising him when he does well. Importantly, Badger gives Mole a lot of power over the weasels—but Mole chooses not to abuse his power and is instead kind to them. Again, this characterizes him as someone Toad (and readers) should emulate. Toad, meanwhile, gets the positive feedback from Badger that he’s been craving when he thanks Mole, which suggests that being polite and considerate of others is praiseworthy.
Themes
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The next morning, Toad sleeps in, as usual. But when he gets downstairs, what’s left of breakfast is cold and unappetizing. Mole and Rat are outside, chatting and laughing, and Badger is engrossed in the paper. Vowing to get revenge later, Toad makes himself breakfast. When he’s about done, Badger says Toad has a day of work ahead of him. Toad must throw a banquet immediately to celebrate his return. Toad jokes that it’s silly to throw a banquet in the morning, but Badger tells Toad to stop being silly. He must write invitations now; the letter paper is all set out.
It seems intentional that Toad wakes up late to a cold breakfast—Badger may be trying to quietly punish Toad for sleeping in like this. Then, Badger takes it upon himself to guide Toad and make sure Toad does the appropriate thing: throw a banquet. The fact that the stationery is already set out suggests that Badger isn’t playing around; Toad has no choice but to obey.
Themes
Dismayed, Toad says he can’t possibly write letters on a beautiful morning like this. He needs to enjoy himself and swagger around his property. But seeing Badger ignore him, Toad says he’ll obviously “sacrifice this fair morning on the altar of duty and friendship.” Badger is suspicious, but he heads to the kitchens to order the banquet. As soon as he’s alone, Toad has an idea: he’ll write the invitations, but he’ll talk about his adventures and the leading role he played last night. In each invitation, Toad writes a program for the evening, featuring speeches and songs, written and performed by him.
Toad still only cares about his own happiness, so the thought of sitting inside writing letters is abhorrent to him. His response to Badger about sacrificing the morning reads as somewhat sarcastic—and indeed, as Toad drafts the program, it becomes clear that Toad isn’t doing what he’s supposed to do. Instead, he’s making this all about him and his heroic exploits. This will no doubt go overly poorly with his friends, given Rat and Badger’s earlier reactions to Toad’s story.
Themes
Toad finishes by noon, and since a young weasel is at the door asking if he can help, Toad sends the youngster to deliver the invitations—and maybe Toad will pay him later. When Mole comes in for lunch, he expects to find Toad depressed. But instead, Toad is swaggering, and this is suspicious. After lunch, Rat and Badger stop Toad from heading out to the garden and sit him in a smoking-room chair. Rat says that at the banquet, there will be no speeches and songs. This isn’t up for debate. Toad begs to sing one song, but Rat says that all of Toad’s songs are just ways to boast and exaggerate. Toad has to turn over a new leaf, and this banquet is the perfect opportunity.
Whereas Mole treated the weasels kindly and fairly last night, Toad does the opposite. The weasel seems like a good kid trying to atone for poor behavior, and it’s cruel of Toad to be cagey about whether he’s going to compensate the weasel. Finally, Rat and Badger call Toad out on his terrible behavior. They insist that Toad can’t just talk about himself—he has to think of his guests and their enjoyment. They won’t let him embarrass himself any longer.
Themes
Toad thinks for a while and then emotionally says that he just wants to “blossom and expand” for one more evening. But he knows he’s wrong, and he promises to change. He’ll never embarrass his friends again. Toad runs from the room, sobbing. Rat tells Badger he feels terrible. Badger agrees, but he says this was a necessary intervention. Toad has to be respected, not a laughingstock. Rat also notes that he caught the weasel Toad sent to deliver the invitations. The invitations were a disgrace, so Mole is writing new ones now.
Toad’s selfishness and conceit make feel good, but he’s also starting to see that his friends won’t tolerate his behavior any longer. It seems like maybe he’s beginning to care more about impressing his friends and making them proud than about continuing his selfish ways. Rat and Badger explain here why they’re being so tough on Toad: Toad, as a wealthy country gentleman, must be taken seriously. In other words, they’re trying to help Toad for his own good.
Themes
As the banquet gets closer, Toad sits in his bedroom. He’s sad at first, but then giggles, locks the door, and arranges all his chairs around him for an invisible audience. He sings one final song to the chairs about his homecoming, and then he sings it again. With this done, Toad brushes his hair and goes downstairs to greet his guests, who cheer when Toad enters the room. They congratulate him on his courage and his cleverness, but Toad only murmurs demurely. When Otter tries to take Toad on a triumphant lap around the room, Toad quietly says that it was all Badger’s idea. Everyone is shocked that Toad is so modest and quiet tonight.
Toad seems to realize his friends won’t appreciate a song like this. Finally, Toad’s friends’ mentorship resonates with him: out of the blue, he becomes modest and quiet at the banquet. Toad is also much more comfortable telling the truth than he was before—storming Toad Hall was all Badger’s idea, so Toad is just giving credit where credit is due. This is a huge change for Toad, who hours ago wanted to give speeches that portrayed himself as the hero.
Themes
The banquet itself is a success. Though everyone else laughs and jokes, Toad only makes pleasant small talk with those seated on either side of him. Some of the younger guests whisper that this isn’t as fun as it used to be, and they beg Toad to sing or give a speech. Toad refuses and instead asks after the animals’ children. He’s truly a new toad.
Toad is behaving himself without his friends having to constantly coach him, which shows that Toad has finally internalized their lessons. He also realizes now that it’s polite to show interest in other people, which is why he’s asking after others’ children.
Themes
After this, Badger, Mole, Rat, and Toad continue to live their lives. After consulting with his friends, Toad sends a lovely gold and pearl locket to the gaoler’s daughter, and he sends money to the engine driver. Badger encourages Toad to compensate the barge woman for her horse (fortunately, the horse is valued at exactly what Toad sold him for). Now, when the four friends stroll through the Wild Wood, the inhabitants greet them respectfully. The mother weasels make their kids look at the four gallant gentlemen. If their kids are acting out, though, the mother weasels tell them Badger will come and get them. This is, of course, totally untrue—Badger loves children—but it’s a very successful threat.
It’s another sign of how much Toad has transformed that he not only compensates those who helped him on his journey, but consults his friends as to how best do that. He’s internalized their lessons on manners, fairness, and honesty, and he shows them he values their opinions. And Toad’s transformation changes things in the Wild Wood, too: now, Toad has earned the weasels’ respect, which makes the Wild Wood a safe place for strolls. Toad’s good manners have truly opened doors for him and his friends, as they’re now happy and free to enjoy the natural world around them in its full capacity.
Themes
