How Does Hemingway Use Rain In A Farewell To Arms

A Farewell to Arms by Ernst Hemingway contains much symbolism and foreshadowing that develop throughout the whole novel. Hemingway introduces rain as the central symbol of the novel. Rain in the novel takes the form of destruction and death. This quote on page two, “… in the fall when the rains came the leaves all fell from the chestnut trees and the branches were bare and all the country wet and brown and dead with the autumn.”, introduces rain as a primary symbol in the novel, and must be present in order to establish this symbol from the very beginning.
The quote aforementioned seems irrelevant but in truth shows foreshadowing and importance. Hemingway uses this descriptive first chapter to introduce the symbolism of rain as death. He contrasts life and death very clearly within the first two pages. Hemingway introduces the summer as a very fruitful

During Henry’s train ride to Stresa in a boxcar full of guns, it is raining. The presence of the guns shows death following Henry back to civilization. The rain continues to fall when Catherine and Frederick sleep in the hotel in Stresa. The rain shows itself again when Catherine and Frederick sail to Switzerland across Lake Maggiore. Catherine’s death follows the couple wherever they go but fades when Catherine and Frederick find happiness in the Swiss mountains. During this time, the two spend the most valuable time of their lives. A month before Catherine’s estimated deadline the rain comes again and when it does, Henry states that he felt, "…as though something were hurrying us and we could not lose any time together." This quote signifies that the couple knew something was going to happen. When the couple say goodbye to Montreux, Henry says that, "In the night it started raining." The final and most significant time Hemingway mentions rain is when Frederick walks out of the hospital in the