payment page
“There’s no security, or peace and tranquility, except underground. And then, if your ideas get larger and you want to expand—why, a dig and a scrape, and there you are! If you feel your house is a bit too big, you stop up a hole or two, and there you are again!”
Lost, cold, and afraid, the Water Rat and the Mole are relieved to be welcomed into the Badger’s home in Chapter IV. Although he is not a particularly sociable creature, and it is the dead of winter, the Badger is gratified by the Mole’s deep appreciation of his underground dwelling. The Badger takes the Mole on a tour of his extensively excavated rooms and tunnels, explaining that it was largely the work of an ancient civilization that had taken over the Wild Wood. He appreciates its pliability, its solitude, and its comfort. In these ways, the home acts as an extension of the Badger’s personality, just as each home does for each creature.
“Shabby indeed, and small and poorly furnished, and yet his, the home he had made for himself, the home he had been so happy to get back to after his day’s work. And the home had been happy with him, too, evidently, and was missing him, and wanted him back...”
In Chapter V, the Mole and the Water Rat return after yet another day’s exploration and adventure. But this time, they travel through a village at dusk where they see many examples of families settling down in the peace and tranquility of their homes. The two are cold and hungry, and they long for rest. But home connotes more than rest. It’s a place of creation and belonging. The Mole feels drawn to the home he built, and the effort he invested calls out to him, longing to comfort him and commune with him. A home is not just a space. It’s an interactive relationship that needs to be nurtured, and the Mole is sad that he has neglected it. In doing so, he has left a part of himself behind and is now incomplete.
“He saw clearly how plain and simple—how narrow, even—it all was; but clearly, too, how much it all meant to him, and the special value of some such anchorage in one’s existence.”
After the Mole pours out his heart to the Water Rat in Chapter V, the two turn around to find the Mole’s den. As they proceed from the outer garden to the kitchen and living area, the Water Rat admires all the domestic touches the Mole has given to his space. But the Mole dismisses the Water Rat’s praise, despairing the shabbiness and poverty of his home. Nevertheless, the two successfully host a holiday party for the field mice, after which the Mole realizes his home’s true value. It may be humble, but it’s his. And as an extension of him, it has value, and it gives him respite.
