Question

Draw the character sketch of peddler

Answer 1

Answer:

The protagonist and central character of the story is an unnamed man who lives as a tramp wandering the countryside and selling rattraps, which he makes out of wire in his spare time. Because he does not make enough money from this to survive, the rattrap peddler also engages in petty thievery and begging—though even with this he still wears only rags and is constantly on the verge of starvation. At the start of the story, the peddler is cynical and opportunistic. He has a difficult lot in life, and takes whatever he can get and trusts no one. He even steals money from the crofter after the old man offers him his hospitality. Indeed, it seems that the peddler’s only pleasure in life comes from thinking of the world as one large, cruel rattrap, and ruminating on other people he knows who have been ensnared. After experiencing true kindness from Elda Wilmansson, however, the peddler seems to change his mindset. He returns the stolen money and declares that he wants to “be nice,” having been freed from the “rattrap” of life by Edla’s compassion and generosity. The peddler’s transformation shows Lagerlöf’s idea of the latent potential for goodness in all human beings.