A Rainy Valley Day

Rain symbolizes multiple things depending on the context in which it appears, but most commonly connotes sadness, rejection or despair... Because rain is a common natural occurrence vital for life, rainfall can also represent rebirth and emotional cleansing.

Today, in the Valley...  that is to say the TN Valley...  it has been raining for two days...  so, do I need to invest in some treated lumber and build an Ark?  Or, am I just being factious? 

Being an English Major in College, I spent a lot of time reading a variety of literary works and analyzing their content using a variety of methodologies, one of which was symbolism...  and the author's use of rain or some kind of flowing water.

Interestingly, The Bible uses rain as well in the form of a GREAT FLOOD that covered the land supposedly to rid the world of evil people, so that the descendants of Noah could repopulate the world.  Supporting the Great Flood Biblical Story is the fact that IN ALL OTHER GLOBAL MYTHOLOGIES, there is mention of a Great Flood that explained a variety of justifications.  Needless to say, all of them in one way or another depicted a CLEANSING of the WORLD so that a new and better society could be rebuilt.

MEANWHILE...

my porch door is open to allow the cool weather to enter the house rather than use electricity to power our air conditioning unit.  There is no need to actually need electricity when there is not a need to do so.

Taking advantage of this rainy day, we have decided to drive to the big city of Knoxville and do a little shopping since we cannot spent anytime outside today.

What Does RAIN Symbolize?

The Symbolism of Rain – 7 Examples in Movies & Books
By Chris Drew, PhD

The symbolism of rain varies across different types of literature and movies.

It has been used as a symbol for many thousands of years, perhaps most notably in the floods in the bible.

Rain can symbolize many things. It can represent unhappiness, rebirth, foreboding, determination, the breaking of a drought, and a pause for introspection.

Here are some examples of how rain is employed as a literary device.
1. Unhappiness and Melancholy
2. Ominous Foreboding
3. Rebirth and Renewal
4. Romance
5. Determination
6. A Pause for Introspection
7. Cleansing

1. Unhappiness and Melancholy
Rain often washes over a scene when the protagonist in a film, TV show or literature is ‘awash’ with sadness.

This may be because rain is oppressive. The clouds that it comes with lock out light and the warmth of the sun. It prevents us from going outdoors to enjoy nature. It literally makes our days grayer and darker.

When a character is sad or moody, rainy weather is often employed as a way of showing how the world is empathizing with the character.

An example is in the book Great Expectations. Pip narrates:

…stormy and wet, stormy and wet; and mud, mud, mud, deep in all the streets. Day after day, a vast heavy veil had been driving over London from the East, and it drove still, as if in the East there were an Eternity of cloud and wind. … gloomy accounts had come in from the coast, of shipwreck and death. Violent blasts of rain had accompanied these rages of wind, and the day just closed as I sat down to read had been the worst of all.

Here, Pip is outlining how the weather is mirroring his gloomy feeling as he spends his days depressed in London.

2. Ominous Foreboding
Rain may also symbolize foreboding. In fact, this symbolism often parallels the use of rain as a sign of melancholy – because the rain is indicating that there are no good prospects to come. There are “dark clouds on the horizon”. Indeed, it can often take place in the final scene of a move that we know will not end well.  READ MORE