Snowstorms Symbol Analysis

Snowstorms symbolize the inevitable external forces the narrator’s family must overcome in order to survive. Ultimately, this inevitability highlights the lack of control that people have over their circumstances. In the first sentence of the story, the narrator remarks that “there seemed to be never a childbirth, or burst appendix, or any other drastic physical event that did not occur simultaneously with a snowstorm.” Whether or not this perceived overlap is accurate, the feeling of distress and powerlessness it evokes cements the connection between personal emergencies and external forces. It is significant that, as a result of the snow covering the family’s car, the narrator and her family must borrow a horse and buggy to go to the doctor. This fact suggests that modern technologies  can’t always rescue the narrator and her family in the face of emergencies like a snowstorm or appendicitis. Thus, the snowstorm at the very beginning of the story highlights humans’ limited control in the face of disaster.