English (Core) · Ch 4 — The Rattrap
The Message of the Story
The Message of the Story
The deeper message is that no human being is beyond redemption, and that kindness, trust and dignity can awaken the buried goodness in even a fallen, dishonest person.
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 comfort, it is Edla who treats him gently even after the mistake is discovered. She insists he be allowed to stay and be fed, and she extends to him the courtesy owed to a guest, not the suspicion owed to a vagabond. That unearned respect is what changes him. Given the chance to be treated as a decent man — a captain, an equal — the peddler chooses, for once, to act like one. He leaves the stolen money behind for Edla to return to the old crofter, and in a note he signs himself Captain von Stahle, showing that he has, at least for a moment, risen to the dignity that was shown to him. …