“The wind was rising, and with it came a great sighing from the trees, a sound which was neither human nor animal but like the voice of the world itself.”
— As the Borrowers are leaving their home, facing the unknown.
Archivist's Choice
The Borrowers Afield
Mary Norton (1955)
Genre
Fantasy / Children's / Young Adult
Reading Time
224 min
Key Themes
See below
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Forced from their home, the tiny Borrowers journey through a giant world of cows, moths, and field mice, finding unexpected joys and challenges in the outdoors.
Synopsis
Forced from their home under the floorboards by a rat catcher, the tiny Clock family—Pod, Homily, and Arrietty—are adrift outdoors. They escape their old house in an apple crate, endure a night in a discarded boot, then meet a kind gypsy boy who helps them. The family crosses a river and finds temporary shelter in a drainpipe. There, they befriend Spiller, an independent Borrower who brings them supplies. As they look for relatives, they discover an old, abandoned railway carriage. Homily at first dislikes the idea, fearing its isolation, but Spiller's cleverness and effort to make it livable convince them. They settle into the carriage. The book ends with hints of other Borrowers nearby, suggesting they might reunite with their kin.
Reading time
224 min
Difficulty
Easy
Pacing
Moderate
Mood
Adventurous, Gentle, Heartwarming, Resourceful
✓ Read this if...
You love classic children's fantasy about tiny people navigating a giant world, focusing on survival, resourcefulness, and the kindness of strangers.
✗ Skip this if...
You prefer fast-paced action or complex adult fantasy narratives.
Plot Summary
The Apple Crate Escape
After being forced from the Human's house, the Borrowers—Pod, Homily, and Arrietty—are trapped in a hat box by Mild Eye, the rat catcher. After a dangerous cart ride, the box is left in an overgrown field. Arrietty, always clever, chews a hole in the hat box, and the family escapes into the large, unfamiliar outdoors. They are immediately overwhelmed by the size and strangeness of their new surroundings, a sharp contrast to their sheltered life. The grass seems like a jungle, and the sounds and smells are new and scary.
A Night in the Boot
As night falls, the Borrowers need shelter from the weather and unknown dangers. They find an old, muddy boot in the grass. Despite its look, it offers protection from the cold and predators. Homily, ever the homemaker, tries to make it comfortable, but the family stays on edge, aware of their danger. This temporary refuge shows their fragile situation and constant need for cleverness in their new, harsh world.
Encounter with the Gypsy Boy
The next day, near their boot shelter, Arrietty sees a young gypsy boy named Spiller. Unlike the Humans they knew, Spiller is quiet, observant, and seems to understand their small size. He leaves them a small piece of bread, a kind gesture that provides much-needed food. Spiller offers a new kind of human interaction for the Borrowers—less about being 'borrowed from' and more about a quiet, almost cooperative relationship. His presence suggests a possible ally.
The River Crossing
The Borrowers soon realize they need to cross a river to continue looking for a new home. Pod, with his practical skills, plans. Using a discarded matchbox and a leaf for a sail, he builds a makeshift boat. The crossing is dangerous, as the current is strong and the water seems vast and terrifying. This event highlights Pod's leadership and building skills, and the family's courage to overcome huge obstacles in their journey.
Life in the Drainpipe
After crossing the river, the Borrowers find a disused drainpipe, which offers a surprisingly secure and dry place to live. Homily, with her nesting instincts, quickly makes it livable, using moss and leaves. While better than the boot, the drainpipe is still far from their old comfortable home. It shows another step in their adaptation to outdoor life, forcing them to accept simpler living. Arrietty, however, still wants a more permanent and familiar home.
Spiller's Regular Visits
Spiller continues to visit the Borrowers, leaving them small amounts of food like crumbs, berries, and tiny pieces of cheese. His silent, consistent help is very valuable, as the Borrowers are still learning to find food in the wild. Spiller never speaks to them, keeping a respectful distance that the Borrowers appreciate. His presence reinforces the idea that not all Humans are a threat, and that unexpected friendships can form, offering hope amid their struggles.
The Search for Relations
Driven by her wish for company and stories of other Borrowers, Arrietty focuses more on finding relatives. Despite her parents' warnings, she explores alone, venturing further than before. This shows Arrietty's growing independence and adventurous spirit, but also her lack of experience with the dangers outside. Her journey shows her strong desire for connection and belonging beyond her immediate family.
The Old Railway Carriage
During one of her trips, Arrietty finds an old, abandoned railway carriage. It is large, relatively sheltered, and seems like a promising new home. She is excited by the possibility, imagining what it could be for her family. This discovery is a turning point, offering a more stable and possibly permanent home than the boot or drainpipe. The railway carriage represents a new chapter, a place where the Borrowers might rebuild their lives outdoors.
Homily's Hesitation
While Pod and Arrietty adapt well to their new outdoor life, Homily struggles. She often mourns the loss of her comfortable, 'borrowed' home and finds the wild world scary and dirty. Her resistance to change and her longing for the familiar create tension in the family. Homily's character shows the emotional cost of displacement and the difficulty of letting go of the past, even when adaptation is necessary. Her journey is one of reluctant acceptance.
Spiller's Grand Gesture
Upon hearing about the railway carriage, Spiller actively helps the Borrowers. Using his knowledge of the land and quiet strength, he helps them move their few belongings from the drainpipe to their new potential home. This act confirms Spiller's role as their silent protector and friend, showing his deep, unspoken bond with the tiny family. His help is vital, allowing the Borrowers to move much more efficiently and safely than they could alone.
Settling into the Carriage
With Spiller's help, the Borrowers successfully move into the abandoned railway carriage. Homily, though initially resistant, begins to see the potential in their new home and starts to make it cozy, using her natural nesting skills. Pod works to secure it and make needed repairs. The railway carriage, while still unusual, offers a sense of stability and permanence they haven't had since leaving the Human's house. It represents their victory over hardship and their ability to create a home in an unlikely place.
Whispers of Other Borrowers
As they settle into the railway carriage, hints and rumors of other Borrower families appear, often through Spiller's observations. These whispers rekindle Arrietty's hope of finding her relatives and connecting with a larger Borrower community. The chance of other Borrowers existing beyond their family provides new motivation and a sense of belonging. It suggests their journey might not be over, but a step towards a broader, more populated world of their own kind.
Principal Figures
Arrietty Clock
The Protagonist
Arrietty matures from a sheltered, curious girl into a resourceful and brave young Borrower, adapting to the wilderness and embracing her independence.
Pod Clock
The Supporting
Pod continues to be the family's steadfast provider and protector, demonstrating his adaptability and ingenuity in increasingly challenging situations.
Homily Clock
The Supporting
Homily reluctantly adapts to the harshness of outdoor life, slowly finding ways to create comfort and security in unconventional homes.
Spiller
The Supporting
Spiller establishes himself as a reliable and consistent guardian for the Borrowers, his quiet actions speaking volumes about his loyalty.
Mild Eye
The Antagonist
Mild Eye's impact is felt indirectly as the initial cause of the Borrowers' displacement, rather than through direct interaction.
The Boy
The Mentioned
The Boy's role is primarily as a nostalgic reference point for the Borrowers' past life.
Themes & Insights
Adaptation and Survival
A main theme of the book is the Borrowers' effort to adapt and survive in the harsh outdoor world after being forced from their home. They must learn new ways to find food, shelter, and avoid danger, different from their previous life of 'borrowing' from Humans. This is clear in Pod's clever matchbox boat to cross the river, and the family's ability to turn an old boot and later a drainpipe into temporary homes, showing their resilience and resourcefulness.
“''It's not like under the floorboards,'' sighed Homily. ''It's all... outside.''”
The Meaning of Home
As the Borrowers are often displaced, the idea of 'home' changes from a fixed, comfortable place to a more flexible idea of safety and belonging, wherever the family is together. Homily at first struggles with this, wanting her old, cozy life, while Arrietty and Pod accept their new shelters more quickly. The journey from the hat box, to the boot, to the drainpipe, and finally to the railway carriage shows that home is less about the structure and more about the love and security within the family, even in tough times.
“''Home is where we are, Arrietty,'' Pod would say, though Homily would sniff and declare it was no such thing.”
Independence vs. Community
Arrietty's growing independence and desire to explore conflict with the family's need for security and their isolation. While the family learns to be self-sufficient, Arrietty's longing for other Borrowers shows the human need for a wider community. Her solo trips, though risky, are driven by a strong desire to find others of her kind, suggesting that true belonging goes beyond just the immediate family. The book explores balancing one's own path with finding a place in a larger group.
“''But there must be others! Somewhere!'' cried Arrietty, her eyes shining with the thought of it.”
The Unseen World
The book continues to explore the idea of a hidden world existing unnoticed by humans. The Borrowers live their lives in miniature, navigating a landscape humans see differently. Spiller's character reinforces this theme, as he is a human who seems to recognize and respect their 'unseen' existence without trying to exploit or expose them. This theme encourages readers to consider different viewpoints and the rich lives that might be happening out of sight.
“To them, a blade of grass was a tree, and a puddle a vast, dangerous lake.”
Plot Devices & Literary Techniques
Miniature Scale
The fundamental premise of the Borrowers' tiny size.
This device creates the entire fantastical world of the Borrowers. Their diminutive stature transforms everyday objects and natural landscapes into monumental obstacles and resources. A matchbox becomes a boat, a boot a shelter, and a field a perilous jungle. This scale allows for imaginative problem-solving and highlights the immense courage required for their survival, making the mundane extraordinary and emphasizing their vulnerability in a human-sized world.
The Journey/Quest
The narrative structure of the Borrowers' search for a new home.
The entire plot is framed as a journey, driven by the Borrowers' quest to find a safe, permanent home after their eviction. This device provides a clear narrative arc, creating suspense and allowing for a series of episodic adventures and challenges. Each new location (hat box, boot, drainpipe, railway carriage) represents a stage in their journey, demonstrating their progression and adaptation while maintaining the underlying goal of finding stability and belonging.
The Benevolent Observer (Spiller)
A human character who aids the protagonists without direct interaction.
Spiller serves as a unique plot device by being a human who is aware of the Borrowers but does not interfere in a destructive way. His silent, helpful actions (leaving food, assisting with transport) advance the plot and provide crucial assistance without compromising the Borrowers' secret existence. He acts as a deus ex machina in miniature, offering timely aid and representing a different, more harmonious relationship between humans and Borrowers, contrasting with the threat posed by other humans.
Foreshadowing (Whispers of Other Borrowers)
Hints and mentions of other Borrower families.
Throughout the narrative, subtle mentions and rumors of other Borrower families are dropped, particularly towards the end. This device creates anticipation and expands the scope of the Borrowers' world beyond just the immediate family. It suggests future adventures and the possibility of Arrietty's longing for community being fulfilled, setting up potential conflicts or resolutions for subsequent stories and adding a layer of hope to their isolated existence.
Critical analysis
Notable Quotes
“It was very cold and very dark and very lonely. And it smelled of earth and damp and things that had been dead for a long, long time.”
— Pod, Homily, and Arrietty are hiding in a badger's sett.
“There was no such thing as safety, only varying degrees of risk.”
— A reflection on their constant perilous existence.
“One day, when you are grown up, you will be able to tell your children that you saw a badger, and perhaps even lived in his sett.”
— Homily trying to comfort Arrietty in the badger's sett.
“They were out in the open, and the open was not a place for Borrowers. The open was a place for things that were larger than Borrowers, much larger.”
— Their initial exposure to the vastness of the outdoors.
“The world was full of eyes, but not all of them saw the same things.”
— A general observation about perception and their hidden existence.
“Courage, thought Arrietty, was not the absence of fear, but the ability to carry on in spite of it.”
— Arrietty's internal thoughts as they face a new challenge.
“There was a world beyond the skirting-boards, a world that was wild and untamed and full of unknown dangers, and unknown delights.”
— Arrietty's longing for exploration.
“A Borrower's life was a series of improvisations, a constant making-do with what was at hand.”
— Describing the practicalities of Borrower existence.
“They were small, but they were clever. And sometimes, cleverness was better than size.”
— A summary of the Borrowers' strengths.
“The feeling of being utterly alone in a vast and indifferent world was a new and chilling experience.”
— The Borrowers' isolation in the open countryside.
“Hope was a delicate thing, easily crushed, but also incredibly persistent.”
— Reflecting on their continuous search for a new home.
“Every rustle, every shadow, every scent was a potential threat, or a potential source of something to be borrowed.”
— Their heightened senses and constant vigilance in the wild.
“To be a Borrower was to live on the edge, to exist in the spaces between the giants, unnoticed and unthanked.”
— A definitive statement about their unique way of life.
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Key Questions (FAQ)
The Borrowers are forced to leave their comfortable home under the floorboards of the old house because a rat catcher has been called in. Their previous human benefactors, the Great-Aunt and Mrs. May, are no longer able to protect them, leading to the immediate danger of discovery and extermination.
About the author
Biography coming soon.
