Civilization and Nature Theme Analysis

“The Rain Horse” dramatizes the conflict between civilization—represented by the protagonist, a young man who abandoned the countryside 12 years ago—and nature. Having returned to the rural area where he grew up, the man wears a new suit as he traverses the rough terrain—a mark of his belief that he’s impervious to the elements. But as he wanders through the farmland, he’s powerless in the face of nature’s onslaughts: driving rain, a treacherous landscape, and the aggressive horse that gives the story its name. This horse’s repeated attacks and the miserable weather impede the man’s progress back to the village (civilization) and contribute to his fear, discomfort, and misery. At first, he attempts to avoid and outsmart nature, but he’s only able to subdue the horse when he becomes animalistic himself, embodying nature’s savage energy. And after escaping the horse, the man symbolically sheds the last things that mark him as civilized when he strips off his clothes. The “Rain Horse” thus demonstrates that even as civilization tries to resist or control the natural world, nature remains a powerful force capable of controlling and humbling people. Moreover, the story suggests that to survive in nature, people must play by its rules rather than trying to outsmart it.

The young man’s belief that he’s “civilized” and able to outsmart nature is implied by his clothing, rational thinking, and desire to return to the village. His walk began on “pleasantly remembered tarmac lanes,” but it eventually became a muddy, “cross-ploughland trek” that dirties the nice suit and shoes he’s wearing. The contrast between the man’s surroundings and his clothing represents the divide between civilization and the natural world—and perhaps the man’s belief in his own superiority over nature. In fact, his walk in the countryside is only a temporary immersion in the landscape he remembers, and when he discovers that he is incapable of connecting to nature like he used to, he wants to “get away […] as quicky as possible.” He no longer belongs in this place, seemingly because he has traded his rural roots in favor of a city life. Then, once the man notices the “strange” black horse, he tries to talk himself out of his frightening impression that it’s after him, telling himself that “[h]orses wander about the countryside often enough,” that his fear is “absurd,” that the horse likely “made a feint at him in passing” out of curiosity or playfulness, and that “anybody in their senses would just walk off.” These thoughts further indicate his separation from nature and his belief in the superiority afforded to him by civilization: rather than accepting the obvious evidence of the horse’s malice and protecting himself, he wastes time and provokes further attacks by clinging to his belief that he can rationalize its behavior.

But as the man tries to return to the village, the heavy rain overwhelms him physically and mentally, demonstrating that nature has more control over him than he has over it. Three miles from the village, the clothing that serves as a mark of civilization succumbs to nature: the man’s shoes are ruined, mud is “inching up” the legs of his suit, and his jacket offers no real protection from the increasing rain—his whole suit feels like it’s made of “sheet lead.” When the rain becomes “blinding” before he has managed to leave the fields, he is forced to take shelter in a stand of “little crippled trees.” Sitting on the ground, the rain soothes him into a “trance-like,” childish state in which he feels shrouded and protected by the branches—perhaps reflecting a memory of how nature used to make him feel when he belonged to this landscape. Yet all this time, the rain continues to “beat steadily on his exposed shoulders,” meaning he is still at the mercy of the elements. Nature is relentless, diminishing the man’s sense of superiority over the natural world and influencing his emotions, thoughts, and behavior.

Alongside this, the horse’s attempts to attack the man are the ultimate example of nature’s power, and it’s only when he gives into his own primal nature—rather than trying to ignore or outsmart the horse—that he’s able to subdue it. His initial response to the horse’s surveillance and attacks is to rely on reason and cunning. But ignoring or tricking the horse only seems to provoke it, as when it charges towards him just after he decides “not to give [it] one more thought.” He changes his path back to the village no fewer than four times to outsmart it, but each time he is shocked to discover that it has anticipated his route. Finally, the man is so distraught and helpless that he abandons cunning for violence. He accepts the horse’s intelligence and power by acknowledging that it is “definitely after him,” arms himself with several good-sized stones, and plans a route that will provide “perfect places to defend himself” rather than one that he hopes will avoid the animal. In this way, he begins to incorporate elements of the natural world into his strategy rather than trying to escape it altogether. When he becomes angry enough to “have killed the horse” and to fantasize about breaking its owner’s neck for “letting the dangerous thing loose,” he begins to strike it furiously with fieldstones. It’s only then that the horse becomes docile and retreats. The man’s embrace of his primal nature—his ultimate willingness to meet nature’s violence with his own—ends the bizarre encounter. Thus, through the man’s perilous trek through the countryside and this dramatic final battle, the story suggests that the line between civilization and nature doesn’t offer as much power and protection as people might wish it to, and that the only way to survive in nature is to accept its power and play by its rules.