"Bee to the blossom, moth to the flame; Each to his passion; what's in a name?"

Helen Hunt Jackson’s words summon vivid natural imagery to explore the universal pull of passion and identity. The bee drawn irresistibly to the blossom speaks to the innate allure of beauty, nourishment, or purpose—an instinctive connection that is essential for both the bee and the flower. Similarly, the moth’s fatal attraction to the flame reflects a yearning so intense that it courts destruction, suggesting the consuming nature of certain desires. Both images speak to the fundamental drives that shape behavior, be they life-giving or perilous.

By paralleling these two very different attractions, Jackson emphasizes that every individual is compelled by their own distinct passion. Some drives lead to fulfillment, productivity, and harmony, as seen in the symbiosis of bee and blossom. Others might steer one towards danger or loss, embodied by the moth’s flutter toward the deadly glow. The pairing acknowledges that passion is not monolithic; it can manifest as hope, ambition, love, or even self-destructive longing. The actions of the bee and the moth are not governed by rational judgment but by an intrinsic, almost fateful yearning—something essential within their nature.

The final contemplative line, “what’s in a name?” challenges the idea that labels or identities matter as much as the passions that define us. Names are societal constructs, shallow when compared to the profound, often unexplainable forces that guide choices and lives. Underneath titles, species, and roles, beings are united by the universal experience of desire. The rhetorical question suggests that trying to categorize or constrain individuals by names does little to explain the deeper motivations fueled by passion.

Jackson evokes empathy for all living things pursuing their particular joys and destinies, whatever form they take. Rather than judge or reduce individual experience to simple names, she invites recognition of the shared, often mysterious impetus toward what we love—or what may undo us.