Death of the Moth vs. Our Global Pandemic

The story Death of the Moth by Virginia Woolf represents the life of a moth which began with mini bursts of energy and enthusiasm. The moth’s life was short-lived and he found himself growing weaker and weaker while feeling helpless. The author, Virginia Woolf creates many comparisons of the life that was lived from outside the life of the moth. We connect this to our global pandemic of COVID-19. Many of us can relate to how the moth was feeling and how it was “trapped” inside of the windowpane. There was an entire life outside of our homes that were waiting for us. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we were unable to experience life to its full potential. The moth’s actions personify our actions while also representing how powerful nature can be. 

Throughout this past year, we humans have been living a hybrid lifestyle. We connect virtually through screens whether that be over zoom or on facetime. Socialization has been limited and we have been isolated away from our friends and family. This led to an extremely lonely lifestyle which triggered many feelings and emotions as a society. This captive and new technology-based lifestyle have triggered anxiety and depression among society as we grew to hold feelings of isolation and confinement. The moth had experienced these same feelings that we did of confinement.“They are hybrid creatures, neither gay like butterflies nor somber like their own species.” (Woolf 448). This quote represents the emotionless feeling that the moth carried around throughout his life. The moth was not feeling happy nor gloomy. Just emotionless. The moth’s entire life was lived how we have been living this past year. He knew nothing more than his small compartment/window but there was so much more than the world had to offer. He yearned to make it outside into nature but never made it there. Many of us who have been quarantined could relate to this feeling very well. Some still may wonder, what made the moth neither happy nor somber? Was it really his hybrid pureness or was it his imprisonment in the windowpane? The answer can be looked at better through the moth’s perspective of being trapped from the inside looking out, just as we were during our isolation and quarantine period. Woolf had also mentioned that there is almost a consciousness of feeling pity for the moth. Especially now, the feeling of pity is so evident because most of us can relate with the moth and how he was feeling so well. As time passed with the moth, he slowly grew to find himself extremely tired and weak with a helpless attitude. The poor moth found himself flying from one corner of the compartment to another feeling trapped. When thinking back to quarantine and the feelings that we obtained during the pandemic feels almost exactly how the moth was feeling. We began to lose hope and our personalities shifted in a negative way. Some of us who caught the deadly disease became weaker as well not being able to do a thing while others had more of a mental impact, just as the moth. 

At the beginning of Death of the Moth by Virginia Woolf, the moth was “dancing” but slowly grew to lose that energy and sparkle. “The same energy which inspired the rooks, the ploughmen, the horses, and even, it seemed, the lean bare-backed downs, sent the moth fluttering from side to side of his square of the windowpane. One could not help watching him.” (Woolf 448). The story then ends by mentioning that the moth had died and he was no longer fighting or in pain. “The body relaxed, and in- stantly grew stiff. The struggle was over. The insignificant little creature now knew death….The moth having righted himself now lay most decently and uncomplainingly composed.” (Woolf 450). The moth’s struggle in life was finally over and the narrator emphasized that by using the words “uncomplainingly” and “the struggle was over”. This informs the readers that the moth was actually ok with dying or at least come to terms with it. He was no longer trapped in that little window pane. Looking back at our perspective as a society, our struggle with the pandemic is coming to a close end just as the moth’s struggle came to an end. The moth was never able to escape the window pane to experience the power of nature. Nature is a powerful concept and it is essential to all types of life. “As often as he crossed the pane, I could fancy that a threat of vital light became visible. He was little or nothing but life.” (Woolf 449). Unfortunately, the moth never escaped, but we finally did or soon will. The moth’s life was sought out to be so meaningless in the story. It was mentioned that he was nothing but a small piece of life, unable to experience the world as he would have liked to. Unlike the moth, we are finally having more freedom in society. We can experience nature again while having much more freedom now than this past year. The author, Virginia Woolf began the story with a hopeful and upbeat tone but ended it in a very dreary and dark manner. I think that this is how most of us felt during the pandemic. Our emotions began positive but ended negatively. We are not finally seeing the positive side of things once again. All of society was first hopeful that it would come to a quick end, listening to the news that spoke of only two weeks in quarantine. As time passed, we became less hopeful and more dreary just as the moth did. Quarantine lasted for over a year and we just now are getting out of that struggle. The Death of the Moth emphasizes that we exist to live which was taken away from us during the pandemic. 

A study that was published in January 2021 suggests that stay-at-home orders have harmed people’s mental health. During the pandemic, people have experienced many health difficulties, depression, and isolation causing much grief throughout society. There are ways to cope with stress which includes unwinding and exercise. The moth was representing these mechanisms when he paced back and forth from the window pane. He continued to go back and forth until he ran out of energy and became sick. The moth was clearly feeling captivated and stressed out. As for us, the world as a whole experienced a huge decline in our health mentally and physically. Many were seeking out coping mechanisms as well to deal with the amount of stress that they had. “In the midst of a global pandemic, the immediate dangers of a deadly novel virus are understandably being prioritized. However, social isolation and loneliness can result in both short- and long-term health effects that cannot be ignored. The lethal effects of social isolation and loneliness may be more immediate, in the case of suicide or domestic violence, or more long-term, in the case of disease-related deaths. International data from over 3.4 million people demonstrate the association of social isolation and loneliness with a significantly increased risk of death from all causes.” (World Psychiatry Julianne Holt-Lunstad). You can again think back to the moth being lonely and isolated. Could this be the reason that has led to his death? Was the moth so isolated in the window that he was ok with the abrupt death? On page 450 in Death of the Moth, the narrator explains how the struggle was finally over for the moth. I wonder if we as a society are also finally coming out of our struggles and emotions that we have faced this past year. Who would have known how relatable a story could have been to our lives and the struggles that we have been facing over this year. The struggle seems to finally be over for not only the moth but us as well.

The story Death of the Moth by Virginia Woolf can be relatable with how our society was throughout this past year. Woolf explains the importance of nature and the universe along with the people who are living in it. Virginia Woolf also emphasizes that everyone sympathizes with life but does not sympathize with the struggles of others. Sometimes, I feel as if living through this pandemic allowed me to learn to sympathize with others while creating deeper connections. Indeed, most do not sympathize with others until it is too late. After the pandemic, I feel as if this mindset has changed throughout society. We have connected as a whole and are finally free. As I stated before, there was an entire life outside of our homes that was waiting to be lived. We are now able to escape our confinement and isolation in our homes and can experience the world to its full potential once again.