English (Core) · Class 12 Languages

Ch 4The Rattrap — Class 12 English (Core), concept-first.

Selma Lagerlöf (1858–1940) was a celebrated Swedish writer and the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, awarded to her in 1909. She is remembered for storytelling that blends the warmth and simplicity of folk-tale and legend with a deep moral seriousness.

Q&A

Concept

40m

Section weightage

Section C · Literature Textbooks (Flamingo & Vistas) · across all 19 lessons

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Key concepts

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Character Revelation Impact

Think about meeting someone new. You don't know if they're honest, brave, or selfish until they do something that shows you.

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Chapter contents

The NCERT structure, section by section. Open a section to see its questions, then read the concept-first solution.

About the Author and the Text

Selma Lagerlöf (1858–1940) was a celebrated Swedish writer and the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, awarded to her in 1909.

1.1

Summary of the Lesson

The story follows a poor, homeless vagabond who wanders the Swedish countryside selling small wire rattraps that he makes himself, keeping body and soul together by begging and, when hunger drives him…

1.2

Themes

The story's deepest theme is that goodness is never wholly dead, even in the most hardened person, and that it can be reawakened by trust and love.

1.3

Character Sketches

The Rattrap turns on four figures — the wandering rattrap peddler, the lonely old crofter, the impulsive ironmaster, and his gentle daughter Edla Willmansson.

1.3.1

The Peddler

The peddler is the protagonist and the only character to undergo real change. A poor, homeless vagabond who sells home-made wire rattraps and survives by begging and petty theft, he is at first bitter…

1.3.2

The Old Crofter

The crofter is a lonely old man, a former farmhand living by himself, who takes the wandering peddler in for the night.

1.3.3

The Ironmaster

The ironmaster is the well-to-do owner of the local ironworks — impulsive, warm-hearted, but somewhat superficial in his judgement.

1.3.4

Edla Willmansson

Edla, the ironmaster's daughter, is the story's true agent of redemption. Gentle, perceptive and mature beyond her years, she notices at once the stranger's fear and unhappiness, and she treats him wi…

1.4

Title and Message

The story's title works on two levels — the literal wire rattraps the peddler makes and sells, and the rattrap as a metaphor for the whole world.

1.4.1

The Significance of the Title

Selma Lagerlöf titles her story after the very object the wandering peddler makes and sells for a living.

1.4.2

The Message of the Story

The turning point comes through Edla Willmansson's warmth. Though her father the ironmaster mistakes the tramp for an old regimental comrade and the peddler lets the error stand to enjoy a night's com…

Summary

- Context: The Rattrap is a short story by Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf, set in the 19th-century Swedish countryside.

Think as you Read

+Think as you Readi16 questions

Understanding the Text

+Understanding the Texti6 questions

Talking about the Text

+Talking about the Texti4 questions

Working with Words

+Working with Wordsi2 questions

Noticing Form

+Noticing Formi1 question

Q11. He made them himself at odd moments. 2. He raised himself. 3. He had let himself be fooled by a bait and had been caught. 4. … a day may…Preview