--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The panes streamed with rain, and the…" description: "\"“The panes streamed with rain, and the short street he looked down into lay wet and empty, as if swept clear suddenly by a great flood. It was a very t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/joseph-conrad-336_rain_the-panes-streamed-with-rain-and-the-sho_1763120.jpg" --- # The panes streamed with rain, and the short street he… ![“The panes streamed with rain, and the short street he looked down into lay wet and empty, as if swept clear suddenly by a great flood. It was a very trying day, choked in raw fog to begin with, and now drowned in cold rain. The flickering, blurred flames of gas-lamps seemed to be dissolving in a…” quote by Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/joseph-conrad-336_rain_the-panes-streamed-with-rain-and-the-sho_1763120.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/joseph-conrad-336_rain_the-panes-streamed-with-rain-and-the-sho_1763120.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/joseph-conrad-336_rain_the-panes-streamed-with-rain-and-the-sho_1763120.jpg) > ““The panes streamed with rain, and the short street he looked down into lay wet and empty, as if swept clear suddenly by a great flood. It was a very trying day, choked in raw fog to begin with, and now drowned in cold rain. The flickering, blurred flames of gas-lamps seemed to be dissolving in a watery atmosphere. And the lofty pretensions of a mankind oppressed by the miserable indignities of the weather appeared as a colossal and hopeless vanity deserving of scorn, wonder, and compassion.”” [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage depicts a bleak, rain‑soaked city that magnifies human suffering and the futility of pretensions, urging empathy and humility. **In simple terms:** Rainy city shows human vanity and suffering. Key Takeaway Recognize humility in harsh conditions. Themes suffering vanity humility empathy Mood melancholic reflective Type literary descriptive philosophical When to use this quote - walking in rain - observing city life - reflecting on personal ambition - writing atmospheric scenes Key Concepts existentialism urban alienation nature's indifference Questions to Reflect On - How does weather shape our perception of self? - Can we find hope amid oppressive environments? A Different Perspective The vivid description may romanticize misery, overlooking resilience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flood/) [Rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rain/) ## Related quotes > [“Not a breath, not a sound—except at intervals the muffled crackling of stones that the cold was reducing to sand—disturbed the solitude and silence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/not-a-breath-not-a-sound-except-at-intervals-the-muffled-crackling-of/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“The Nellie, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest. The flood had made, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-nellie-a-cruising-yawl-swung-to-her-anchor-without-a-flutter-of-2/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“In little pockets of conversation, old men were telling stories of ancient floods. Women were talking of about how much rain there'd been in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grisham/in-little-pockets-of-conversation-old-men-were-telling-stories-of/) [John Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grisham/) > [“They looked so familiar that for a moment Claude feared he had doubled back to Mrs. Merritt's city, until a sudden wave of water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-woolf/they-looked-so-familiar-that-for-a-moment-claude-feared-he-had/) [Douglas Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-woolf/) > [“It rained for four days and four nights, hard. Aniline wasn’t used to it. At first in the neighborhoods, ditches adjacent to the streets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-archer-jones/it-rained-for-four-days-and-four-nights-hard-aniline-wasn-t-used-to/) [Scott Archer Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-archer-jones/) > [And I, the former mystic, was thinking: Yes, man is stronger, greater than God. When Adam and Eve deceived You, You chased them from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/and-i-the-former-mystic-was-thinking-yes-man-is-stronger-greater-than/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Impulse arrested spills over, and the flood is feeling, the flood is passion, the flood is even madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/impulse-arrested-spills-over-and-the-flood-is-feeling-the-flood-is/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Anytime I see a rainbow, what comes into my mind is how skillful and talented someone was to create an ark that didn't leak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/anytime-i-see-a-rainbow-what-comes-into-my-mind-is-how-skillful-and/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [The flood of photos sweeps away the dams of memory. Never before has a period known so little about itself. In the hands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-kracauer/the-flood-of-photos-sweeps-away-the-dams-of-memory-never-before-has-a/) [Siegfried Kracauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-kracauer/) > [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. Live with applied consciousness, prosperity will break through the walls, flood you with it. You do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/the-purpose-is-to-be-in-gratitude-forever-live-with-applied/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [“Nāne se ho nāne rahie, jaisi nāni doob; Ghās fis sab ood gayā, doob khoob ki khoob.” “It is best to remain low and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadhu-keshavjivandas/n-ne-se-ho-n-ne-rahie-jaisi-n-ni-doob-gh-s-fis-sab-ood-gay-doob-khoob/) Sadhu Keshavjivandas > [“If wishes were teardrops the world would flood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-keyes/if-wishes-were-teardrops-the-world-would-flood/) [Greg Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-keyes/) > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) ## More by Joseph Conrad > [“Hunters for gold or pursuers of fame, they all had gone out on that stream, bearing the sword, and often the torch, messengers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/hunters-for-gold-or-pursuers-of-fame-they-all-had-gone-out-on-that/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [The good author is he who contemplates without marked joy or excessive sorrow the adventures of his soul amongst criticisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-good-author-is-he-who-contemplates-without-marked-joy-or/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“Let the earth and the sea each have its own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/let-the-earth-and-the-sea-each-have-its-own/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [He hated all this, and somehow he couldn't get away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/he-hated-all-this-and-somehow-he-couldn-t-get-away/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“A fool, what with sheer fright and fine sentiments, is always safe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/a-fool-what-with-sheer-fright-and-fine-sentiments-is-always-safe/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“The mind of man is capable of anything-because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future. What was there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-mind-of-man-is-capable-of-anything-because-everything-is-in-it/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [Few men realize that their life, the very essence of their character, their capabilities and their audacities, are only the expression of their belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/few-men-realize-that-their-life-the-very-essence-of-their-character/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“Perhaps on some quiet night the tremor of far-off drums, sinking, swelling, a tremor vast, faint; a sound weird, appealing, suggestive and wild -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/perhaps-on-some-quiet-night-the-tremor-of-far-off-drums-sinking/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“All that mysterious life of the wilderness that stirs in the forest, in the jungles, in the hearts of wild men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/all-that-mysterious-life-of-the-wilderness-that-stirs-in-the-forest/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“The fascination of the abomination—you know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-fascination-of-the-abomination-you-know/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [It's only those who do nothing that make no mistakes, I suppose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/it-s-only-those-who-do-nothing-that-make-no-mistakes-i-suppose/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“Thieving was not a sheer absurdity. It was a form of human industry, perverse indeed, but still an industry exercised in an industrious world;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/thieving-was-not-a-sheer-absurdity-it-was-a-form-of-human-industry/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [I found myself back in the sepulchral city resenting the sight of people hurrying through the streets to filch a little money from each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/i-found-myself-back-in-the-sepulchral-city-resenting-the-sight-of/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [Society was calling to its accomplished child to come, to be taken care of, to be instructed, to be judged, to be condemned; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/society-was-calling-to-its-accomplished-child-to-come-to-be-taken/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [I was constantly watching myself, my secret self, as dependent on my actions as my own personality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/i-was-constantly-watching-myself-my-secret-self-as-dependent-on-my/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) [Explore all 645 Joseph Conrad quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) ## More Flood quotes > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [“If wishes were teardrops the world would flood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-keyes/if-wishes-were-teardrops-the-world-would-flood/) [Greg Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-keyes/) > [“Nāne se ho nāne rahie, jaisi nāni doob; Ghās fis sab ood gayā, doob khoob ki khoob.” “It is best to remain low and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadhu-keshavjivandas/n-ne-se-ho-n-ne-rahie-jaisi-n-ni-doob-gh-s-fis-sab-ood-gay-doob-khoob/) Sadhu Keshavjivandas > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. Live with applied consciousness, prosperity will break through the walls, flood you with it. You do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/the-purpose-is-to-be-in-gratitude-forever-live-with-applied/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [The flood of photos sweeps away the dams of memory. Never before has a period known so little about itself. In the hands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-kracauer/the-flood-of-photos-sweeps-away-the-dams-of-memory-never-before-has-a/) [Siegfried Kracauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-kracauer/) > [“Anytime I see a rainbow, what comes into my mind is how skillful and talented someone was to create an ark that didn't leak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/anytime-i-see-a-rainbow-what-comes-into-my-mind-is-how-skillful-and/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Impulse arrested spills over, and the flood is feeling, the flood is passion, the flood is even madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/impulse-arrested-spills-over-and-the-flood-is-feeling-the-flood-is/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“I've decided that has been the great achievement of our age: to so thoroughly flood the planet with megabits that every image and fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-ve-decided-that-has-been-the-great-achievement-of-our-age-to-so/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [Amidst the flood of dangerous reading, I plead for my Master's book; I call upon you not to forget the book of the soul.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/amidst-the-flood-of-dangerous-reading-i-plead-for-my-master-s-book-i/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [“So all were gone at last, one by one, each swept out into the mighty flood tide of the city's life, there to prove,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/so-all-were-gone-at-last-one-by-one-each-swept-out-into-the-mighty/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [Early humans, bursting with questions about Nature but with limited understanding of its dynamics, explained things in terms of supernatural persons and person-animals who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/early-humans-bursting-with-questions-about-nature-but-with-limited/) [Ursula Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-goodenough/) > [Something will be there when the flood recedes. We know that. It will be those people now standing in the water, and on those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/something-will-be-there-when-the-flood-recedes-we-know-that-it-will/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [With war and famine and flood and special effects films, when you do somebody under duress, you have to be really be inventive and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-weir/with-war-and-famine-and-flood-and-special-effects-films-when-you-do/) [Peter Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-weir/) [Browse all 825 Flood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The panes streamed with rain, and the short street he looked down into lay wet and empty, as if swept clear suddenly by a great flood. It was a very trying day, choked in raw fog to begin with, and now drowned in cold rain. The flickering, blurred flames of gas-lamps seemed to be dissolving in a watery atmosphere. And the lofty pretensions of a mankind oppressed by the miserable indignities of the weather appeared as a colossal and hopeless vanity deserving of scorn, wonder, and compassion.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph Conrad" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-panes-streamed-with-rain-and-the-short-street-he-looked-down-into/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Flood" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-panes-streamed-with-rain-and-the-short-street-he-looked-down-into/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/joseph-conrad-336_rain_the-panes-streamed-with-rain-and-the-sho_1763120.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/joseph-conrad-336_rain_the-panes-streamed-with-rain-and-the-sho_1763120.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/joseph-conrad-336_rain_the-panes-streamed-with-rain-and-the-sho_1763120.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The panes streamed with rain, and the short street he looked down into lay wet and empty, as if swept clear…” — Joseph Conrad", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Joseph Conrad", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The panes streamed with rain, and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-panes-streamed-with-rain-and-the-short-street-he-looked-down-into/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-panes-streamed-with-rain-and-the-short-street-he-looked-down-into/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```