It's More Than Just Rain or Snow

Thomas C. Foster says that, in literature, "weather is never just weather." It always symbolizes something more: a theme, a mood, a tone. In The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger, weather is especially important. The first sentence of almost every chapter is a weather update, and it is always more important than just weather.

Rain is constantly used to express the emotions of the characters in the novel. One example is on the day of the wedding. The two main characters are marrying each other. From the time they wake in the morning there is a torrential downpour, and there is no sign of it letting up. The rain symbolizes their overwhelming uncertain and nervous feelings. As soon as the wedding is over, and the nervous feelings disappear, the rain stops.

Tragedy appears many times in this novel, and snow is all around during these tragedies. Snow is full of beauty and wonder, but it has the possibility to turn dangerous and ugly. These tragedies were all complete accidents. The days seemed like any normal day, or possibly even a great day, but in the wake of this happiness things got out of control and it all turned ugly. Tragedies and death are inescapable in life; just like snow, they are all inclusive. When the snow appears in this novel, the tragedy is never far away.

I always noticed that the weather was used in literature, but I never fully understood the complexity that just one form of precipitation, or lack of, can have on the piece of literature as a whole.