A simple act of Mercy and kindness can bring about a change of heart. Discuss the significance of love and kindness with reference to the story The Rattrap.
The peddler signed the letter as Captain von Stahle because he had been transformed by the girl's kindness and compassion. Meeting the ironmaster's daughter was a turning point for the peddler because her unbridled kindness and concern touched him deeply and spurred him to mend his ways. She convinced her father to allow him to stay on in their house to share the Christmas cheer. She made him believe in himself again, treated him like a captain in the army though she was well aware of the fact that he was a common tramp. It was as a token of appreciation for this treatment that he left the rattrap as a Christmas gift for the girls and enclosed a letter of thanks, leaving behind the stolen money to be restored to the owner. This act is reflective of the values of kindness and compassion exhibited in the story. The rattrap is depicted as the symbol of the whole world with its lands, seas, cities and villages which seemed like a big rattrap to the peddler. It had never existed for any other purpose than to set baits for people. It offered riches and joys, shelter and food, heat and clothing, exactly as the rattrap offered cheese and pork. But as soon as anyone let himself be tempted to touch the bait, it closed in on him and then everything came to an end. This is what amused the peddler that a thing such as his rattrap could so easily be a metaphor for the world. But there are people in this world who do not fall into the trap of losing their humanity, it is for people like Edla that the world has hope.