The Birth House

References to the moon appear frequently throughout the novel. Even in an early excerpt from “A Rare Family History” reads, “The moon, seeing Annie’s sadness, began to sing,” bringing Dora’s ancestor safely home from sea (2). Dora often references the voice of the moon, which she can hear in Scots Bay, but not in Boston. As such, the moon is a symbol of connection to nature and home for Dora. It is also meaningful that, on the night of Archer’s death, there is a “full moon, clear skies” (272).

Traditionally, the moon is associated with the menstrual cycles of women, which follow a similar schedule to the waxing and waning of the moon. Therefore, there are also frequent references to the moon in relation to fertility and childbirth throughout the novel. Mothers tell their daughters that the moon’s power “turned the tides of womanhood, her voice that pulled their babies into the light of birth” (ix). It is no coincidence, then, that most of the births Dora attends as a midwife occur at night, under the gaze of the moon. When Dora is trying to become pregnant, one of the rituals she undergoes is a “moon bath.