The Wind in the Willows: Analysis of Setting
"The Wind in the Willows" is a classic children's novel by Kenneth Grahame that explores the adventures of anthropomorphic animals along a fictional river in England. The setting plays a crucial role, with the river serving as the central artery of life for the characters. Flowing through picturesque landscapes of meadows, woods, and towns, the river reflects the beauty and tranquility of southern England, providing a backdrop for various events in the story. Key locations, such as Rat's cozy riverbank home, Toad Hall's grand country house, and Mr. Badger's underground abode, illustrate the diversity of animal habitats and lifestyles within the narrative.
The riverbank, characterized by its comfortable domesticity, contrasts with Toad's opulent but careless lifestyle at Toad Hall, emphasizing themes of home and belonging. Badger's home showcases the resilience of nature, as human structures decay while animal dwellings endure. Additionally, the mystical Pan Island introduces a spiritual element to the setting, where Rat and Mole encounter the god Pan, highlighting the connection between the characters and the natural world. Overall, the settings in "The Wind in the Willows" not only enrich the story but also evoke a sense of nostalgia for the simplicity and beauty of rural life.
The Wind in the Willows: Analysis of Setting
First published: 1908
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Allegory
Time of work: Early twentieth century
Places Discussed
River
River. Fictional river in England that flows to the sea past meadows, woods, and towns and which serves as the focus of the novel. The river, never named in the story, is modeled after the rivers of southern England well known to Kenneth Grahame throughout his life. It gurgles along its course between banks covered with rushes, flowers, reeds, and trees—silver birch, alder, and willow trees. As the novel progresses, it is the setting for Rat’s patient tutelage of Mole, Mole’s growing skill as a boatman, Otter’s despair over the disappearance of his son, Toad’s near-drowning following his escape from prison, and Rat and Mole’s mystical encounter with Pan.
Riverbank
Riverbank. Rat’s home, a multichambered hole in the muddy riverbank just above the water line. It is a marvel of cozy domesticity with its parlor where armchairs are pulled close to the fireside, its kitchen which supplies the food for the table and picnic baskets, and its bedrooms offering rest in their soft sheets and blankets.
Toad Hall
Toad Hall. Toad’s home, a large English country house with lawns sloping down to the river. In keeping with his bombastic character, Toad’s home is a grandiose establishment. In addition to an imposing brick manor house it includes a banqueting hall, a coach house and stable-yard, and a boathouse. Toad, careless in so many ways, is equally careless in appreciating all that his home means to him. Only after he has lost it does he understand its value. To regain his home, Toad works on a battle plan devised by Badger, who knows of a secret tunnel leading from the river to the interior of the house.
Mr. Badger’s home
Mr. Badger’s home. Extensive series of stone-lined rooms connected by paved passages, and bolt holes underground in the Wild Wood. In the novel, Badger observes that when humans went away, their structures fell into ruins and were eventually engulfed by the forest, and the animals, who always remain, made use of what the people left behind to create secure and comfortable homes.
Mole End
Mole End. Mole’s home, a simple underground burrow in the meadow near the river, with sleeping bunks built into the parlor wall.
Pan Island
Pan Island. Small wooded island in the river. Here Rat and Mole, in their search for Otter’s lost son, experience at sunrise the mystical presence of the god Pan, guardian of animals.
Bibliography
Carpenter, Humphrey. “The Wind in the Willows.” In Secret Gardens: A Study of the Golden Age of Children’s Literature. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1985. Carpenter, coauthor of The Oxford Companion to Children’s Literature, concludes that, of all the subjects in his study, only Grahame managed to create a utopian world. For Carpenter, it is the level at which The Wind in the Willows explores the artistic imagination that gives it coherence.
Chalmers, Patrick R. Kenneth Grahame: Life, Letters, and Unpublished Work. London: Methuen, 1933. This biography, appearing a year after Grahame’s death, sentimentalizes the genesis of The Wind in the Willows. Valuable in its extracts from Grahame’s letters to his son documenting the development of the story, and from correspondence between Grahame and his readers and publishers.
Green, Peter. Kenneth Grahame 1859-1932: A Study of His Life, Work, and Times. London: John Murray, 1959. Considered a groundbreaking study. Presents as in-depth analysis of the psychological undercurrents, social context, literary sources, and creative method that produced The Wind in the Willows.
Kuznets, Lois R. Kenneth Grahame. Boston: Twayne, 1987. Cogently discusses the work’s thematic and formal complexity, from its mock-epic structure and density of style to its archetypal associations. Surveys modern evaluations and adaptations.
Sale, Roger. “Kenneth Grahame.” In Fairy Tales and After: From Snow White to E. B. White. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1978. Examines The Wind in the Willows as a classic of children’s literature. Sale argues that the book, reflecting Grahame’s own anxieties, offers reassurance in the face of the demands of adult life.