Answer the following questions :
(a) Why did the peddler sign himself as Captain von Stahle?
(b) How did the ironmaster interpret the peddler's refusal to accept his invitation to the manor house?
(c) People are nothing but thier values. Comment with reference to the story "The Rattrap". Highlight some of the incidences from the storty in the context of this statement.
(d) What different values do the ironmaster and his daughter conduct thier lives by? What impact does Edla's compassion and kindness have on the peddler?
(e) Why did Edla still entertain the peddler even after she knew the truth about him?
a) Captain von Stahle was a fictional name that the peddler had made up. However, 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.
b) The ironmaster assumed that the peddler was feeling embarrassed because of his miserable clothing and invited him in for Christmas.
e) Edla had a kind and sympathetic heart that was pained by the plight of the poor peddler. She requested her father to allow him to spend one day with them in peace as a respite from the struggle he had to endure round the year. Her principles did not allow her to throw this man out of her house on the Christmas Eve especially when they had already promised him a “Christmas cheer”. Moreover, she had been in high spirits that morning thinking of the ways in which she could help the tramp. Therefore, even after knowing the truth, Edla wanted to entertain the peddler.
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