Rain, Rain, Go Away

Although “Rain, Rain, Go Away” might technically be characterized as a science fiction/fantasy story, it bears few of the trademarks that most readers would associate with the genre. Until the story’s final paragraphs, it seems firmly rooted in reality, and the central conflict concerns a fairly mundane aspect of daily life: one family’s interest (and perhaps a bit of jealousy) about who their new neighbors are, which introduces the theme of Curiosity and Judgment. The allusion to a nursery rhyme in the story’s title and the frivolous concerns voiced by Mrs. Wright set a banal tone, wherein the stakes are as low as one neighbor peeking through the blinds at another. This tone is reversed by the story’s conclusion.

The dialogue between the Wrights forms the bulk of the story, illustrating uncomfortable truths about both the Wrights and the objects of their curiosity, the Sakkaros. Because of its structure, the narrative reads more like a play than a traditional story, as the Wrights’ dialogue conveys indirect characterization, action, and intent while Asimov’s narration provides the stage directions.