The death drive is one of the most controversial concepts in the history of psychoanalysis. This paper investigates it through an analysis of Richard Wagner's The Flying Dutchman. In Slavoj Žižeks account, it is precisely the reference to Wagner that enables us to see how the Freudian death drive has nothing whatsoever to do with the craving for self-annihilation … ; it is, on the contrary, the very opposite of dying - a name for the undead state of eternal life (Žižek, 2002, p. 106, emphasis in the original). The author discusses this challenging claim by exploring the differences between Freuds, Lacans and Žižeks conceptions of the death drive, and the extent to which they can be seen at work in The Flying Dutchman. Then, taking Žižek at his word, the author argues that the death drive might indeed refer to ‘the very opposite of dying’ since it would be a mask for the desire to return beyond birth, to the womb. This paper thus proposes to rehabilitate Otto Ranks theory of the trauma of birth, thanks to which the author hopes to shed some light on Wagners opera and Freuds Beyond the Pleasure Principle.