A current professor of French at USC, the informant first learned this proverb from her grandmother when she was in grammar school. Now that she has a daughter of her own, the informant has repeated the proverb to her, and explained that most French parents say the proverb to their children from time to time after the child has had a rough day.
In fact, the proverb was actually appropriated by the Countess of Ségur, a 19th century French children’s book author, for the title of a novel. Published in 1871, her novel Après la pluie, le beau temps is about the trials that befall a dysfunction French family.
“Après la pluie, le beau temps” is a French proverb that means, literally, “After the rain, better weather.” Of course, as you can imagine, we use it to mean that, after a bad time, there will come a better time. There is a reason that adults say it to kids a lot, you know? Because kids are not used to bad times, they need to learn how to deal with them, really, they do. Maybe, then, the ending of the proverb is too optimistic? I don’t know. But to them, bad times and problems are like mountains, so the proverb gives a little perspective.
The informant concisely unpacked much of the meaning that lies behind the proverb. It is true enough that children are often unsure of how to handle and overcome negative experiences, and so the proverb addresses not only the fact that we must all acknowledge the existence of bad times, but also that better times are waiting on the other side. The proverb does not say “When there is rain, there is better weather,” instead just stating rain as a given fact: “After the rain, better weather.” This way, children know to expect hardships and obstacles in their lives.
However, the proverb also relies on an analogy to weather, introducing the theme of cyclicality and unpredictability. For one, the proverb suggests that rain will come in waves, time and time again; the bad times are just that―plural. Thus, children understand that, like the weather cycle, difficult times will arise periodically throughout life.