Life span: 1858 to 1940
Swedish writer who became the first Nobel Prize winner for Literature (1909).
She preferred to write tales about peasants, myths, or rustic life. 
Unlike her contemporaries, she did not write in a realist mode.
Influenced by Nordic myth and legend
What does this sign mean to you?
Other than the obvious, that is?
Selma Lagerlof--The Rat Trap
Plot and Symbolism in The Rat Trap
A symbol is something (like a person place or thing) that represents something more. 
Example: A rat trap is a rat trap, but what else could it possibly represent? 
How does the Rat Trap matter to the plot? In other words, the events that happen in the story?
Symbols and Theme in the Rat Trap
•The Theme is the central idea in the story that the writer wants to communicate through the story. 
•Often it's a revelation about people and human life.

How can the rat trap communicate the theme?
What is the theme? That is what we're going to be looking for.
So throughout the story Lagerlof is going to be referring to a rat trap. Ask yourself—what is the deeper meaning? What does it symbolize or represent? 
There are many other symbols. As you read through this, look for them. Even if you aren't sure, write them down. Authors choose their words, their images and symbols for a specific reason. 

What about you?
What symbol describes 
you best?