Why is pronoun “her” used in this sentence?
I am reading "The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde" and there is this sentence "It was a wild, cold, seasonable night of March, with a pale moon, lying on her back as though the wind had tilted her, " When I've read it my first thought was "Why her". I am confused
Search from various English teachers...
Answers · 7
3
The moon is often considered to be female. This is the way people write about the moon in a poetic way. The sun however is considered to be a male.
John
0
To my knowledge this dates back to grammar rules in old English. The generalization that I made for myself is this one: whatever that bears something can be referred as a female entity in English literature like she/her for bus or ship. In your sentence night is something that bears mysteries and things in itself, when it comes to descriptive language of literature you can say she/her, if not you can say it. Like the one I did earlier in my answer
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!
Start Learning Today
