The message in this essay is death. It eventually comes to everyone and everything. For it's stronger than the moth, stronger than life it's self. Woolf has sympathy for the moth and realizes that life is truly life precious. The month is so determined to continue living. She had tried to assist the moth by using her pencil to bring him back up but laid it down shortly afterwords. It danced around the window and continued to fight even though it had fallen down several times; it brought itself back up.
Woolf incorporates symbolism in her essay by describing the moth as life and energy. "So simple a form of the energy" and "taken a tiny bead of pure life and decking it as lightly as possible with down and feathers, had set it dancing and zig-zagging to show us the true nature of life" quoted from the essay. Another way she incorporates symbolism is by describing the months journey to death. Woolf also describes the scenery, the horses, and the farm itself. The month had traveled from one windowsill to the other.Flying from one end to the next. Eventually it's movements become awkward. The month wasn't filled with much "life or energy". It stops flying until it can't anymore. Slowly excepting it's death after