Moon Symbol in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre Essay Sample

In terms of symbols that are used throughout a wide range of novels and authors, the moon and lunar imagery always comes to the forefront as one of the most common. Its nightly presence is found in every individual's life, making it a symbol that can be understood and related to by people from all walks of life. The cycle of the moon and the sun can often represent the constant changing of times, as well as the ideas of light and dark, with the sun revealing new truths and the moon bringing darkness upon one’s life. Just as the moon progresses through phases, people move through different aspects of their life, with revelations symbolized through the presence of a full moon, with the waxing and waning moon symbolizing the rise and fall of the human journey, repeated over and over again for all of time. The expressions of the moon in Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, develops themes of absence and presence throughout the novel, with the same excerpts also illustrating a different theme of changeability vs. constancy when examined under the influence of the lunar imagery presented in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Coleridge, ultimately expanding the readers understanding due to the moons multiplicity as a symbol. Through the application of different meanings of the moon's presence in writing than what it seems the author originally intended, the content and truth of the novels can be developed and understood to a much greater level

The moon, or the idea of the moon, is present throughout the vast majority of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, often due to the fact that the poem revolves around sailing, an activity where one’s only light and means of direction is often the night sky and its offerings. Early in the poem, when the mariner is discussing the smooth sailing that occurred throughout the first portion of the trip, he describes the cycle of the day as follows: “The sun came up upon the left, out of the sea came he! And he shone bright, and on the right, went down into the sea” (Coleridge).  In this, the moon is never directly discussed, rather it is the idea of the constant cycle between the moon and the sun that is described through the eyes of a sailor. Although the courses of the days can change quickly and rapidly when out at sea, such as going from an attitude of “merily did we drop” (Coleridge), to being engulfed by a storm described as “tyrannous and strong” (Coleridge), the cycle of the days always remains as a constant. This ensures that some consistency will always exist from day to day, helping to create rhythm and pattern that allows the sailors to keep themselves pushing forwards day to day. The idea of changeability vs. constancy arises through this image of the moon, representing the balance between the two that must occur to keep motivation and sanity in one’s life. In this same poem, the moon is brought forth once again, when the albatross is stated to follow them “In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud, It perched for vespers nine; Whiles all the night, through fog-smoke white, Glimmed the white moon shine” (Coleridge). The moon takes a different symbolic meaning through this, illustrating the enlightenment tendencies that it has, guiding forth the albatross as well as the ship through this night stricken with dense fog. The expressions of multiple symbolic meanings of the moon within a singular piece of writing is a prime example of how universal and widespread lunar imagery truly is throughout literature. 

One would expect the moon to have prevalence in a story written about a sailing adventure, but the large presence and significance of lunar imagery in Jane Eyre reveals that any plot line can be influenced by ideas presented through the moon, whether that be in large or small ways. In many portions of this novel, the significance of the moon is created through the sun’s absence or the moon’s stillness rather than through a large presence, such as when “daylight began to forsake the red-room” (Bronte), or when the “moonlight was still, …It glided up the ceiling and quivered over [her] head” (Bronte). In both of these the moon brings along a level of eeriness to the story, mostly due to the lack of sunlight, making it harder to realize what is truly occurring. The absence of light presented by the moon can symbolize the darkness of Jane's thoughts, triggered by the traumatic experiences she faced as a child growing up in a very abusive situation. As soon as the guiding light of the sun is taken from her, she is left with just her own thoughts, often causing nightmares and frights. By looking at similar events of Jane Eyre a second time, except this time using the symbolic meaning of the moon in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, new truths can be revealed about Jane and her life. Just as the sun sets to the moon while Jane is locked in the red-room, the same cycle of the sun and moon occurs every day of Jane's life, bringing a degree of constancy to her life to keep her progressing and moving forwards. Even though Jane’s views and experiences are constantly changing throughout the novel, she will always have a certain connection to her past, due to the same cycle of the sun and moon that led to some of her trauma as a child. Just as the setting of the sun and the rising of the moon will always remain constant, so does the influence of Jane’s childhood experiences on decisions that she makes. The new level of understanding that is brought forth through looking at one piece of literature through the symbols present in another is very helpful in leading the reader to new realizations of the character and their actions throughout the story.

Although the multiplicity of the moon allows it to hold itself as one of the most universal symbols in literature, it’s not the only symbol that possesses the ability to present itself throughout literature in many different meanings and applications. This same idea could be applied to many other commonly used literary symbols, such as the presence of certain animals like doves and snakes, or the various weather that occurs over the course of a story. The more that one can grasp the different meanings and uses of a given symbol throughout literature, the more likely that they are to better understand and comprehend the presence of that symbol yet again when they come across it. In this instance, the idea’s that are presented in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, such as changeability vs. constancy, can be applied to Jane Eyre, a story with little relation to the tale of the mariner, and still allows for the reader to better understand the material presented in it and the reasons behind the actions and situations that occur.