The Pathetic Fallacy Meaning and The Best British Literature

You may know the term, but if not, Pathetic fallacy is an understandable literary device used often in British books that allows for weather conditions to be described with human emotions or feelings, often mirroring the mood of a character or situation in a story. It’s a way to use nature to reflect and enhance the emotional atmosphere of a scene or narrative. With Britain and its bad weather, it is not surprising that this device has been used often in books. There are good books that use the British weather as a metaphor. But why? Find out more in The Pathetic Fallacy Meaning and The Best British Literature you can read that uses it.

The British Weather

The weather is an obsession for most British people; it is often the first thing people talk about when they meet. Multiple UK weather warnings are constant because the climate is notoriously unpredictable. Come rain or shine, the British carry on through.

Britain is known for many wonderful things: its culture, its history, its lush scenery, but not the British weather. It rains a lot, and we mean A LOT, it can snow, be very cold and windy. For those living in the UK, they get used to it, but for those who travel here, one of the things that stays with them beyond the county’s beauty and mystery is the terrible weather. So, it’s not really a surprise that many British authors have used it in novels. It’s more than a scene setter; it can drive a plot or give a character reference.

Weather as a literary device in fiction

The weather in British literature is far more than background scenery; it’s a powerful tool that writers use to enhance their stories. It can influence plot, shape character development, set the mood, and even serve as an emotional symbol. Weather can create conflict, foreshadow events, and add depth to the narrative, ultimately drawing the reader deeper into the world of the story.  Several classic British novels have incorporated weather for good or bad.

For example, weather events like storms, floods, or extreme heat can act as catalysts for conflict and plot progression.  A blizzard can trap characters, forcing them to make difficult choices or face unexpected challenges, driving the narrative forward.  Weather can also create obstacles, delaying or altering a character’s plans, thereby intensifying the plot.  Surprisingly, several British novels incorporate sunny weather as a significant element, often contrasting with deeper themes. 

Spring and Summer Sunshine

Where hope is in the air, freedom abounds, yet literally trouble is brewing…

A Room with a View Novel by E. M. Forster published in 1908

A Room With A View Penguin

The very British book is about a young woman in the restrained culture of Edwardian-era England. Set in Italy and England, the story is both a romance and a humorous critique of English society at the beginning of the 20th century.

The lead character, Lucy, finds herself torn between the intensity of real living in Italy and the repressed morals of Edwardian England, personified in her terminally dull fiancé, Cecil Vyse.

Brideshead Revisited by author Evelyn Waugh, published 1944/1945

Evelyn Waugh was another British writer who used weather as a symbolic and atmospheric device in his novels. 

Brideshead Revisited deals with theology, the unilateral act of love for God from Catholics and the opposite view of atheists. Yet it explores sombre themes via the weather. It ebbs and flows, often reflecting the emotional states of the core characters, particularly Charles Ryder, the core character and the Flyte family with whom he spends time. The sun-drenched setting of Brideshead, the Flyte family home, is used to evoke nostalgia and a sense of lost paradise. 

Waugh’s skilful use of weather was a device he utilised to take the narrative beyond mere storytelling, adding layers of meaning and depth to his social commentary. From the Sunshine of Brtideshead to the fierce and harsh weather of the British Island, he drew much inspiration across all his tomes.

The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy, published in 1886

The English novelist and poet Thomas Hardy loved a weather signifier. He employed weather phenomena to reflect and enhance the mood, atmosphere, and even the emotional state of his characters. Many Thomas Hardy novels used weather symbols as a premonition of events. 

“The Mayor of Casterbridge” by Thomas Hardy, by Penguin Books

Thomas Hardy was a keen observer of the natural world and had a deep understanding of meteorology, which allowed him to weave weather into his narratives in a way that is both realistic and deeply symbolic. All his characters experience the natural world deeply and intertwined, with weather serving as a crucial element in their interactions. 

Many have noticed that his portrayal of nature is not merely decorative but an integral part of his storytelling and thematic concerns. The Mayor of Casterbridge is not solely defined by sunshine; it features sunny days that highlight the bustling market and social interactions in the fictional town of Casterbridge. But worry not, the stoms are coming.

Raining cats and dogs

As much as the sun is mentioned in the above tomes, rain is probably the most common weather in the UK. Rain literature offers up multiple quotes and is an endless literary device.

After Me Comes the Flood by Sarah Perry, published in 2014

A spectacular novel of obsession, conviction and providence, a startling investigation of the nature of determination in all senses of the word. Elegant, gently sinister and psychologically complex, After Me Comes The Flood is a haunting and hypnotic debut novel.

After Me Comes the Flood, printed by Hachette.co.uk

The title refers to the sense of impending chaos and personal collapse that the protagonist, John Cole, experiences, both literally and metaphorically. It implies a disregard for the consequences after one’s own time. In the novel, this phrase captures John’s fear of his mental breakdown and the potential for a catastrophic event to befall him. 

The Weather in the Streets, a novel by Rosamond Lehmann Published in 1936

This story involves Olivia Curtis, a young woman, and her affair with a married man, Rollo Spencer, whom she knows through his sister Marigold and whom she meets again on a railway journey.  Eventually, Rollo Spencer’s wife, Nicola, becomes pregnant, which leads to the termination of the affair with Olivia. The Weather on the Street, Virago Modern Press (image left)

The title; a metaphor for the emotional and social climate in which the central character lives, and whose life is marked by a forbidden love affair and the societal constraints of the time. The weather is not just a literal description of the environment, but also a reflection of the characters’ moods and the atmosphere of the relationship.

If it keeps on raining by Jon McGregor, published 2010Shortlisted for BBC National Short Story Award (listen here)

If It Keeps on Raining by Jon McGregor

If It Keeps On Raining’ depicts a man who spends his time watching the fishermen on the other side of the river and the boats that go past. He also works on his raft and treehouse, preparation for the flood that he believes is coming. Only gradually does it become apparent that this man was a police officer at Hillsborough, who subsequently left the force because of the psychological scars he still bears.

He thinks about the water, and what will happen when it rises, and plans for the time when the rains start. It doesn’t fall, but he knows it will. Or will it?

And for the heart of winter time, there must be snow

The end of the year brings with it the happy yet freezing time of Christmas, and with it much in the way of emotional turmoil, which is great fodder for any writer

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, published in 1843 

Opening on a bleak, cold Christmas Eve in London, seven years after the death of Ebenezer Scrooge’s business partner, Jacob Marley. Scrooge, an ageing miser, dislikes Christmas and refuses a dinner invitation from his nephew Fred. He turns away two men seeking a donation to provide food and heating for the poor and only grudgingly allows his overworked, underpaid clerk, Bob Cratchit, Christmas Day off with pay to conform to the social custom.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, printed by Faber and Faber

That night, Scrooge is visited at home by Marley’s ghost, who wanders the Earth entwined by heavy chains and money boxes forged during a lifetime of greed and selfishness. Marley tells Scrooge that he has a single chance to avoid the same fate: he will be visited by three spirits and must listen or be cursed to carry much heavier chains of his own.

The depiction of snow-covered London during Christmas is iconic, influencing the public’s perception of a “white Christmas”. The story highlights the contrast between the cold, snowy exterior and the warmth of the reformed Scrooge’s heart. 

Plot development, characterisation, mood and atmosphere, symbolism and even settings are the perfect arenas for the use of pathetic fallacy in highlighting how weather reflects the emotional state of characters. However, in the UK, where the weather is an everyday topic if not an obsession, it’s no surprise to see it used so often with British Authors.

If you enjoyed reading The Pathetic Fallacy Meaning and The Best British Literature, then why not read The Magic Music of Timbre here

Cent magazine, London; Luxury Mindset