Rules

Water is intentionally utilized in several different forms as a symbol of communication, or specifically, for the ability to communicate. For example, the pond in which Catherine and her best friend, Melissa, happily swim and dive all the way to the bottom is distasteful to Kristi. Though she tries the pond once, Kristi perceives the water as murky, cold, unappealing, and perhaps dangerous since Ryan told her a big, mysterious fish lurked under the floating platform. Kristi cannot wait to get out of the pond and back to Ryan. Just as she cannot deal with the pond water, so she and Catherine cannot bring themselves to communicate at any depth.

Jason and Catherine’s first interaction occurs after Jason spills water on his shirt and must sit with it wet. Accordingly, he initiates conversation with Catherine. David, who has difficulty with mutual communication, cannot stand to be wet and covers his ears whenever it is raining. Catherine is recorded as holding back her tears repeatedly throughout the narrative until the moment Jason accuses her of not going to the dance because she is embarrassed by him. Later that evening, for a second time when she explodes against David, she weeps and holds him apologizing. For Catherine, flowing tears are a signal of honest communication.

Rules includes mentions tears, glasses of water, the fishbowl, rain, and the ocean. The overarching meaning of water as a symbol of communication is that people flock to see the ocean in Maine, but can scarcely immerse themselves in it, since it gets no warmer than 60 degrees Fahrenheit during the midst of summer. Like water, communication is necessary, refreshing, and beautiful, but can be difficult to deal with and overwhelming. Given the use of water as a symbol of communication, it is interesting to reflect on the purpose of David continually dropping toys into the fishbowl and especially on the meaning of the siblings staring at their fish tank reflections in the last scene.