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Existential Loneliness, Responsibility, and the Search for Meaning in K. O’Neill’s The Moth Keeper

Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This article examines how existential loneliness, responsibility, and the search for meaning are represented in K. O’Neill graphic novel The Moth Keeper (2023) The study focuses on Anya’s decision to become a Moth Keeper, the solitude required by this role, and the effects of that responsibility on her sense of self and relationships. It adopts a qualitative literary analysis with descriptive content analysis. The primary data consist of dialogues, internal reflections, narrative episodes, character interactions, and visual elements selected from the graphic novel. The analysis uses Moustakas’s (1961) account of existential loneliness as a conceptual foundation and examines three analytical dimensions: self-isolation, existential uncertainty, and the search for meaning. The findings show that Anya’s loneliness is represented through her familiarity with solitude, her reluctance to disclose emotional difficulties, and her reduced participation in social interactions. Her questions about the lantern, her existence, and the darkness reveal uncertainty about her identity and the purpose attached to her chosen role. At the same time, her wish to become “a light for others” indicates an effort to locate meaning through service to the community. The narrative also presents a tension between communal responsibility and personal well-being: Anya’s commitment supports the village, but the demands of the role limit her opportunities for connection and self-care. The graphic novel’s dialogue and visual composition work together to convey this tension, showing that existential loneliness involves more than physical separation. It concerns the individual’s effort to understand personal identity, sustain relationships, and negotiate responsibility while seeking meaning.
DOI: 10.59011/austronesian.5.3.2026.1022-1036
Language: English
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7225810313
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