Love, Rain, and Connection: Finding Joy in Stormy Moments
Have you ever stepped outside just as rain begins after a long, dusty stretch of summer? The air shifts. Water hits earth, stone, pavement, and trees, releasing a fragrance that feels like new life. There’s a word for that scent—petrichor—a word I always stumble over but cherish, because it names something I’ve loved since childhood.
Drops tap against leaves and roll from awnings; they drum lightly on a car roof, hiss beneath tires, swoosh past on windshield wipers. If you’re outside, a cool mist might brush your cheeks. On a warm afternoon, those drops feel playful, fresh, renewing. In winter, the rain may be brisk and bracing, inviting you to pull your hood tight or slip under an awning where you can savor the smell of clean air and the hush of falling water. Rain can be soft or pounding, quiet or jubilant. It cleans, refreshes, and invites us to pause.
Rain also stirs our emotions. It can draw us toward coziness or adventure: splashing through puddles, laughing with a friend, or simply standing still to breathe in the scent of a world being washed. It often invites reflection, creativity, even courage. That is why, across centuries, storytellers have linked rain to love, renewal, and turning points.
Rain, Love, and Storytelling
Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre offers one of literature’s most stirring rain-soaked reunions. As Jane and Rochester find their way back to each other, a storm rages outside Thornfield, echoing their turbulent journey and clearing space for new beginnings.
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, especially in the 2005 film, gives us Darcy’s impassioned proposal delivered under a pelting storm. The rain amplifies every heartbeat of the scene, stripping away pride and reserve so that honesty can surface.
Romantic comedies use rain with a lighter touch. In Four Weddings and a Funeral, Charles stands drenched outside Carrie’s flat, confessing that he doesn’t want to marry anyone—except, of course, her. The storm underscores his sincerity, showing that love often asks us to risk discomfort for joy.
Even musicals celebrate rain’s connection to affection. In Singin’ in the Rain, Gene Kelly dances through puddles, giddy because he’s fallen in love. That exuberant scene reminds us that romance in rain isn’t always about confessions or kisses. Sometimes it’s about happiness so big it overflows into the street.
Modern films keep the tradition alive. Sweet Home Alabama offers a small-town kiss beneath a storm, while To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You gives us a sweet umbrella-lit moment, perfectly capturing teenage hope. From Victorian novels to YA rom-coms, rain remains a timeless catalyst for love.
Rain in My Own Stories
As a writer, I’m often drawn to rainy scenes. I draft many of my pieces outdoors on our deck, sheltered by an overhang, letting the rhythm of rainfall steady my thoughts. Rain’s music makes me feel alive and grounded at once.
Two stories in my collection The Art of Connection grew out of that affection for storms. The first, “Rain Check,” begins when two strangers meet under a café awning during a sudden shower:
“They stood watching the rain together, the steady percussion creating a private world beneath the awning. The damp air carried spring blossoms from the planters, mingling with the earthy scent of rain. They made occasional comments about the weather, the traffic, the way people ran with newspapers over their heads as if that would keep them dry. Their bodies bent toward each other in identical postures, as if they were running through invisible finish lines.” — from “Rain Check”
Later, in “The Art of Rain,” those characters share not only romance but a love of art inspired by water and weather:
“He moved to the third piece, the gentle lavender and green, his movements slow, almost reverent. His fingers hovered over the misty wash, tracing the air where raindrops had bled the colors together. ‘And this one… it’s like standing in morning fog. So peaceful after the chaos of the others.’” — from “The Art of Rain”
Rain gives them something to talk about, a quiet delight to share — the same way it invites many of us to lean closer, listen harder, and find comfort or courage in someone else’s company.
An Invitation to Readers and Writers
Rain doesn’t just belong to fictional characters. It’s for all of us. Next time a shower drifts in, try savoring it:
- Stomp in puddles or spin in drizzle.
- Sit beneath an awning with a book or notebook, letting drops drum above you.
- Step outside after a long dry spell and breathe deeply—the world smells reborn.
- Write a scene or journal entry about how rain changes a place or a mood.
For writers, rain is fertile ground: a ready-made soundtrack, a sensory feast, a setting that softens boundaries and heightens connection. For readers, it’s an invitation to imagine: Who might you meet under that awning? What truth might you speak when the world is silvered with rain?
Closing Reflections
Rain has as many moods as love itself. It can be gentle or wild, introspective or exuberant. Whether you’re tracing literary couples through storms, revisiting classic films, or stepping into a shower on your porch, rain invites you to slow down and notice beauty.
That’s the heartbeat of The Art of Connection and the companion essays I’m writing for Love in Small Doses. Both celebrate how light can slip through the cracks of ordinary days—sometimes in laughter, sometimes in courage, sometimes in quiet tenderness while the rain falls softly around us.
So when the next storm arrives, don’t rush to shut it out. Open the door, breathe in the petrichor, and see what stories—real or imagined—might be waiting there.
This essay was inspired by my new short story collection, The Art of Connection! Find the stories I mentioned there, Rain Check and The Art of Rain, or read them as standalone ebooks!
Link to The Art of Connection on Amazon.
Also, since I started writing essays about writing The Art of Connection, I decided to collect them together into a book about writing and reading sweet meet-cute stories, which will include both essays found here on my blog, more writing tips, and extra essays. You can pre-order Love in Small Doses: Meet Cutes, Art, and the Joy of Reading and Writing Short Stories.
Rene (Rose) Hawthorne 