Dense fog in and around Basel, and fog in narratives

Late last night, I looked out the rear window of our apartment and saw only fog. Late this afternoon, I drove Luisa to her riding lesson in nearby Rümmingen, Germany, and the fog was back, and even thicker at the somewhat higher elevation. While the fog meant that I needed to be careful while driving, it didn't really mean anything in particular, unlike in literature and films, where fog is always significant. If someone is out in night-time fog in a story, then something is always about to happen, as when Camilla Treadway Sheffield runs out of the fog and meets her future lover Link Williams in Ann Petry's "The Narrows". (Andrew Shields, #111words, 11 January 2022)