Lunar symbolism connected to the sacred feminine : A close reading and analysis into the permeating spirituality and reoccurring lunar references in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.

The objective of this essay is to investigate the recurring lunar symbolism in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre in relation to the concept of the sacred feminine. While exploring the repeated presence of the moon, this essay discusses traditional constraints imposed by patriarchy, scientific accuracy in regard to the lunar cycle, as well as the intersection of supernatural spiritualism and classical mythologies with Christianity. Drawing on the theories of Cashford, Hall, Franklin and Cixous, the analysis applies a feminist literary lens to examine how lunar imagery functions as a narrative tool for spiritual and gendered subversion. The feminist perspective, found through deep reading, reveals how Jane Eyre can be seen to reflect this spiritual amalgamation - the promotion of feminine attributes and female liberation not to be seen as diminishing a preexisting system, but, rather, expanding the cosmos of possibilities constituting the human experience. Brontë unwaveringly merges rational Christian morality with deeper, an often suppressed, feminine spiritual wisdom. The presence of symbolic interplay in the novel could suggest a promotion of feminine autonomy and cyclical transformation.