Roopa Banerjee
“The sky wept with me that day.”
This sentence is an example of pathetic fallacy, a literary device where human emotions are attributed to the natural world or inanimate objects to showcase a character’s mood or situation. Unlike plain description, pathetic fallacy heightens the connection between the external environment and internal human emotion to enable writers to express emotion through landscape, weather, and environment.
Pathetic fallacy was coined in the 19th century by English critic John Ruskin. It originates from the Greek pathētikos, meaning ‘emotional’ or ‘sensitive’, and the Latin fallacia i.e, ‘falsehood’ or ‘deception’. Ruskin first used it in his book Modern Painters of 1856, positing that when poets attribute emotion to waves and clouds, they are using a false imitation of reality. It has lost its negative connotation today, though, and is now an accepted as a forceful and efficient stylistic device.
One of the finest ever examples of pathetic fallacy is in the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. After the creature is created and Victor Frankenstein is filled with dismay and horror, the weather also turns stormy. Thunder and lightning symbolize Victor’s guilt and terror. Another graphic example is from Shakespeare’s Macbeth. After the murder of King Duncan, there are abnormal occurrences: owls cry out, the earth shakes, and it is dark when it should be light. The disturbed natural world reflects the disorder in the human world, the horror of regicide and Macbeth’s own divided mind. In both dramas, pathetic fallacy brings emotions that were otherwise invisible to the surface, captivating readers and spectators.
Pathetic fallacy is not confined to narratives in classic literature; it’s present and flourishing in popular culture. The weather in the animated movie The Lion King reflects the moral condition of the kingdom. The reign of Scar is marked by dry, barren land with dead skies and no rain, while the return of Simba is ushered in by sunshine and renewal. Nature works as a gauge of hope and justice, transforming abstract events into concrete, emotive images. An example from modern times is in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. When Dementors arrive, they bring cold weather and surprise storms. Darkness and cold descend, symbolizing the emptiness they spread and foreshadowing the emotional weight Harry must confront.
Writers use pathetic fallacy because it sparks human empathy. Humans automatically identify weather and landscape with mood: grey clouds with melancholy, sunshine with happiness. And by using such imagery, authors can enrich characterisation and thematic tone without stating emotions literally. It is a toned-down version of ‘show, don’t tell’, allowing the setting to reflect or highlight the action.
Rather than being the falsehood John Ruskin once denounced, pathetic fallacy is a useful literary device through which writers deepen narrative atmosphere and invite readers into an emotional landscape as vivid as the physical. In connecting weather and environment to states of mind, writers establish a concordance that makes emotions more impactful. Whether it is storm clouds building up to reflect a guilty conscience, or a kingdom flourishing under just rule, pathetic fallacy shows us that the outer world can be as eloquent as the inner heart.
Exercise
Name the books featuring these examples of pathetic fallacy:
- The stormy Yorkshire moors often mirror the characters’ turbulent emotions, tempests outside echo inner turmoil.
- The marshes’ mist and gloom parallel Pip’s confusion and fear when he first meets the convict, Magwitch.
- Weather and seasons reflect Tess’s fate: springtime innocence, stormy passions, and winter desolation.
- When Jane and Mr Rochester confess their love, a storm breaks and splits a chestnut tree, foreshadowing obstacles ahead.
- Storms at sea mirror Pi’s fear and struggle for survival, while calmer waters reflect moments of hope and spiritual reflection.
ANSWERS
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
