Water References Plath VS Salinger

When I was reading tonights assignment, I was struck by the numerous references to water. FIrst, when Esther is in the graveyard visiting her father, it begins to rain. She line tells the reader that she spent the last of her New York money on a black rain jacket. Next, when she takes the pills to kill herself (notice she chases them down with a glass of water) she says "The silence drew off baring the pebbles abd shells [which is reminiscent of the beach] and all the tatty wreckage of my life. Then, at the rim of vision, it gathered itself, and in one sweeping tide, rushed me to sleep." The tide and shell references in this passage remind me of the beach and then I remembered Esther's infatuation with the shore and how she had said earlier in the book that drowning herself in the sea would be the best way to day. There is also the almost obsessive comfort that Esther receives from taking hot baths. All of these connections to water reminded me of the discussions we had about the significance of water throughout 9 stories (innocence, knowledge etc.). What do you think water represents for Plath or Esther? Why is it that both Plath and Salinger used water as such a key symbol in their stories?