It’s neat, put together, and well-stocked-his home is prepared for anything, just as Rat is highly practical and organized. Mole, for instance, is pleasantly surprised when he first enters Rat’s home, as Rat’s home is exactly like Rat.

Moreover, the novel suggests that it’s better to stay close to home and have adventures there than it is to wander far and wide.Ī person or animal’s home, the novel suggests, is in many ways a reflection of who they are and what they value. But wherever a character makes their home, and whatever their house might say about them, The Wind in the Willows nevertheless presents home as a place where people (or animals) feel safe, loved, accepted, and certain of who they are. But characters’ identities also aren’t set in stone, which the novel shows most clearly when Mole abandons his underground home and makes a new life for himself as a river-dweller.

For each animal, their homes, and the choices they make about their homes, are reflective of their identities-Toad’s lavish country house, for instance, reflects his wealth and self-centeredness. Badger lives in an extensive home built into tunnels under the Wild Wood, while wealthy and pompous Toad lives in the nicest house on the river, Toad Hall. Mole begins the novel in a neat, tidy, underground home and soon joins Rat in a well-furnished house built into the riverbank. Though The Wind in the Willows focuses heavily on the outdoors, the novel also devotes a lot of attention to the four main characters’ domestic, interior spaces.

In the willows book