The peddler was a vagabond who had no house, no family. He used to sell rattraps. One evening when he was trudging along the road, he saw a cottage by the roadside. He knocked at the door and asked for permission for night stay at the forge. The owner of the cottage gave him shelter, food, tobacco and his company and confidences. He even showed him the thirty kronor that he had saved. But the peddler stole the money the next day, violating the trust of the crofter. Later, the peddler thought that the crofter’s hospitality was a bait for him to be trapped.
Similarly, the ironmaster’s hospitality also did not impress the peddler much because he was kind to him only because he thought him to be his old acquaintance. But, on the contrary, Edla’s kindness and hospitality stirred up the essential goodness in him because her kindness was without any selfish motive in it like the crofter who wanted company and the ironmaster who wanted to help his old friend. Edla wanted to give some comfort and happiness to the peddler even though she knew that he was a tramp.
