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Summary
Chapter VIII. Toad’s Adventures
The Toad, in jail, laments his poor judgment and ill deeds. He refuses to eat until the jailer’s daughter offers to care for him. Her food and attention cheer his heart and help him to remember his status. When she asks him about Toad Hall, he starts bragging. After some time, the jailer’s daughter suggests that he dress like her aunt, the washerwoman, to escape. The aunt agrees to participate in the deception, as long as she is well paid and tied up, so she can keep her job. On his way out, men flirt with him, but the Toad keeps his cool until he arrives at the train station. There, he discovers that he has left behind his waistcoat along with his money and keys.
On the streets and desperate for an escape, he begs the engine driver to help an old washerwoman who has lost her purse. The driver believes that the Toad is a washerwoman, so he agrees to let him aboard if the Toad will scrub a few of his shirts. The Toad agrees, thinking to send along money instead. As they travel the rails, the Toad becomes more excited to get back to his regular life. Then, the driver senses another train behind them and sees one loaded with police and detectives, who are all armed. They demand the engine driver stop. The Toad confesses his crimes to the engine driver. The engine driver explains that he doesn’t like motor cars and doesn’t want policemen to boss him around, so he helps the Toad escape. They speed through a tunnel and end up in the woods. The Toad has been in prison so long the woods at night seem frightening and strange, but he makes himself a bed and falls asleep.
Chapter IX. Wayfarers All
The Water Rat feels restless as he senses the change from summer to fall. The changing season also affects the field mice and the swallows, who prepare for winter. The Water Rat tries to convince them to stay, but they know better than to endure the cold and hunger of winter. As the birds chat about how much they love their time in the south, the Water Rat asks them why they bother to come back. Then, the Water Rat reconsiders and decides to head south himself. Soon, he encounters a Sea Rat. The Sea Rat has just tried farm life and is now returning to life at sea. During a picnic lunch, the Sea Rat shares tales of his long and circuitous voyage to England. The Sea Rat is headed to a well-known port town to find a ship for his next adventure. He invites the Water Rat to follow and, in a daze, the Water Rat packs a bag and sets off. He runs into the Mole, who drags him back home and sits with him until the Water Rat falls asleep. Slowly, the Mole brings him back to the present and its simple pleasures and leaves him writing poems.
Analysis
The Toad is an animal driven by extremes. He feels he is either on top of the world or being crushed under its heel. Neither extreme reflects objective reality, but they are signs of the Toad’s overactive imagination. When he is alone, lost, or hungry, he feels like he is the most miserable of all nature’s creatures. He loses interest in nearly everything, but his mood can change in an instant. When he is with friends, on his way home, or enjoying a good meal, he thinks he is the bravest, smartest, and most talented creature of all. Both of these modes are rooted in the Toad’s tendency to see himself in the extreme. The Toad is a member of the landed gentry in a society that values aristocrats for their position, riches, and bloodlines. The Toad believes that he must be the best, otherwise, he is experiencing the worst. If he is successful, he is the most successful. If he fails, his failure is the greatest failure the world has ever seen. This logic makes him seem ridiculous to his companions, but he always takes himself seriously.
The Water Rat feels the change of seasons as the neighborhood’s animals plan for leaner days. This makes him feel restless and nostalgic. The Water Rat does not typically migrate, and part of him resents the field mice and songbirds for leaving him to go on adventures elsewhere. As they talk about their excitement, he feels like they are excluding him, and getting ready to abandon him. When he asks them about their timing, or argues that they don’t need to talk endlessly about their travels, the songbirds’ reactions reinforce the Water Rat’s negative feelings. The emotions driving these other animals come from two sources. First, they are part of the physical memory that drives their instinct. Second, they are part of a more spiritual longing. Although the Water Rat doesn’t share their memories, their talk makes him long for something different. It changes his view of his surroundings, making them seem cold and unappealing. The Water Rat imagines something better must exist, and he is no longer content with his well-loved home, river, and companions. Instead, he becomes obsessed with the unknown.
Although he may not realize it, the Water Rat goes on an adventure that is more far-ranging than the one the Sea Rat relates. The field mice and songbirds make him restless and give him the idea that his life might not be limited to the river and his home. In this state of mind, he encounters the Sea Rat, whose way of life at first seems unpleasant. The Water Rat imagines the Sea Rat’s life has more difficulties than delights. At this point, he remains the hospitable Water Rat, offering his companion a meal and a place to rest. But as the Sea Rat’s story continues, the Water Rat’s world shrinks. Meanwhile, the world of his imagination grows until he can almost hear, see, and smell all that the Sea Rat has. Now, the Water Rat’s eyes take on the wild, stormy color of the sea, and he has mentally left the riverbank. As he packs his bags in a daze and heads out on the open road, in his mind he is already sailing the coast of Europe. The Mole recognizes that the Water Rat has become another creature. Without leaving home, he makes a very far journey, which offers him powerful material for his poems.
