There Will Come Soft Rains

Identifying characters in a story like “There Will Come Soft Rains” might seem difficult as there are no living humans. Despite this lack, the story has several prominent characters. The most obvious is the house, which, with its multiple automated inhabitants, acts as the main character.

Even in the first line, the house is described as an emotional being, announcing that it is time to get up “almost as if it were afraid that nobody would” (248). A variety of other emotional descriptions pile up. The narrator describes the house as being careful and preoccupied. In one instance, the cleaning rats from the walls become “angry” (250).

The house is personified in other ways. Some of its automated residents are described as having “faces” (254) and in the attic is a “brain” (254). The house is also capable of making decisions and taking action. When it receives no response regarding a poem preference, it chooses the poem alluded to in the story’s title.

Although personified in a variety of ways, the house does not appear to be fully conscious. Its residents, while they can experience emotions and carry out complex tasks, are strictly divided in terms of their capabilities.