The Last Leaf: Johnsy's Illness and Sue's Efforts

The Two Artists

• Sue and Johnsy are two artists who share a small flat on the third floor of an old building.

Johnsy's Illness

• Johnsy is seriously ill with pneumonia, and her condition has not improved since November.
• Sue is worried because the medicine is not working for Johnsy.
• The doctor tells Sue that Johnsy has lost the will to live and believes she will die.
• Medicine will not work unless Johnsy wants to live, according to the doctor.

Sue's Efforts to Help

• Sue tries to distract Johnsy by talking about clothes and fashion.
• Sue brings a drawing board into Johnsy's room and starts sketching.
• Sue hopes to attract Johnsy’s attention and change her mindset.

Johnsy's Obsession

• Johnsy is counting backward.
• Johnsy is looking out the window, watching the leaves fall from an ivy vine.
• Johnsy believes that when the last leaf falls; she will die.
• Only five leaves remain on the vine.

Sue's Reaction

• Sue dismisses Johnsy's belief as nonsense.
• Sue brings Johnsy soup to eat.
• Johnsy says she is not hungry.
• Sue asks Johnsy to promise not to look out the window while she paints.

Behrman the Old Painter

• Sue needs to paint an old miner to earn money for them.
• Sue tells Johnsy she will ask Behrman to be her model.
• Behrman is a 60 year old painter who lives downstairs.
• Behrman dreams of painting a masterpiece before he dies.

Sue and Behrman's Conversation

• Sue tells Behrman about Johnsy's condition, saying it is foolishness and that Johnsy thinks that she will die when the last leaf falls.
• Behrman calls Johnsy stupid but agrees to go up and see her.

The Last Leaf

• Sue and Behrman go to Johnsy’s room, and Johnsy is sleeping.
• They look out the window and see only one leaf remaining on the vine.
• It is raining and cold, a strong wind is blowing.
• Behrman silently goes back to his room.

The Leaf Remains

• The next day, Johnsy asks Sue to open the curtain because she wants to see if the leaf has fallen.
• Sue is sure that the remaining leaf must have fallen during the night because of the fierce weather.
• Sue hesitates but opens the curtain.
• Johnsy and Sue see that the last leaf is still there.
• Although the last leaf is green and healthy looking, Johnsy thinks that last leaf will certainly fall.
• Johnsy is determined that she will die, and she tells Sue that she will die when the last leaf falls.
• Sue says Johnsy is not going to die, and she is needed by Sue.

Johnsy's Change of Heart

• Johnsy keeps checking the window for further leaf falls.
• Despite the wind, the one leaf remains.
• In the afternoon, after another storm, Johnsies calls Sue.
• Johnsy tells her that the last leaf has shown her how wicked she has been.
• Now Johnsy intends to try to get better.

Recovery

• Sue brings Johnsy some soup and milk.
• Johnsy smiles faintly.
• Later, the doctor tells Sue that Johnsy will recover.
• The doctor needs to go downstairs to see Behrman, who is ill with pneumonia.
• The doctor thinks that Behrman will not survive.

Behrman's Sacrifice

• The next morning, Sue tells Johnsy that Behrman has died of pneumonia.
• Sue tells Johnsy that Behrman's shoes and clothes were wet and that he had been out in the terrible storm.
• Sue explains that a brush and green and yellow paint next to Behrman's bed provided the answer.
• The last leaf that Johnsy saw was not a real leaf; it was Behrman’s masterpiece.
• Behrman had painted it on the wall to give Johnsy hope and a reason to live
• Johnsy's mindset changed once she saw that artificial leave, and therefore was able to recover