The Last Leaf Summary

The Last Leaf Plot Summary

Covers the whole plot, including the ending.

1. A Cold Visitor

   The story begins in a small artist colony in Greenwich Village, New York, during a harsh winter. Sue and Johnsy, two young artists, share a studio apartment. Johnsy, a delicate girl from California, becomes gravely ill with pneumonia. The doctor tells Sue that Johnsy's chances of recovery are slim, not because of the disease's severity, but because she has given up her will to live. He estimates her chances at one in ten, saying medicine alone cannot fight a patient's self-resignation. Sue worries deeply, seeing Johnsy's growing apathy and melancholic gaze fixed outside their window.

2. The Last Leaf's Pact

   As Sue tries to cheer Johnsy up and coax her to eat, she notices Johnsy counting something outside the window. Johnsy reveals she is counting the leaves on an old ivy vine climbing the brick wall opposite their window. She believes she will die when the last leaf falls. Despite Sue's attempts to change her mind, Johnsy's conviction is firm. She says that with each gust of wind, the leaves are falling faster, signaling her end. This revelation disturbs Sue, who understands how serious Johnsy's psychological state is.

3. Sue's Despair and Behrman's Introduction

   Distraught by Johnsy's fatalistic outlook, Sue goes to the studio of Mr. Behrman, an old, unsuccessful painter who lives on the ground floor. Behrman is a sixty-year-old man with a long, white beard and a difficult manner. He has always dreamed of painting a masterpiece but has never started it. He often poses for the younger artists, including Sue and Johnsy, for a small fee. Sue tells him about Johnsy's condition and her belief about the last leaf, expressing her fear. Behrman, at first skeptical of such 'foolishness,' eventually agrees to pose for Sue, grumbling about Johnsy's 'idiotic' idea.

4. The Stormy Night

   The night turns exceptionally harsh, with fierce wind and rain against the windows. Sue stays by Johnsy's bedside, consumed with worry. She knows such a storm would strip the last leaves from the frail ivy vine. Johnsy, weak but determined, insists that Sue not close the window shade, wanting to see the final leaf fall. Sue reluctantly complies, her heart heavy with dread, expecting a bare vine in the morning and her friend's spirit to fail. The sound of the storm fills their small apartment, increasing the tension and despair.

5. The Miraculous Leaf

   The next morning, after the storm has passed, Johnsy, with a weak voice, asks Sue to raise the shade. Sue hesitates, fearing the worst, but eventually pulls it up. To their astonishment, against the brick wall, one solitary ivy leaf still clings to its stem. It is a dark green leaf, with yellow edges from decay, but it remains attached despite the wind and rain. Johnsy stares at it, surprised, and comments on its persistence. This unexpected sight sparks a flicker of hope in Sue, though Johnsy still believes it will fall that day.

6. Johnsy's Change of Heart

   Throughout the day, the single leaf remains. Johnsy watches it, and as evening falls and the leaf still holds, a change begins within her. She realizes her desire to die was foolish and wrong. The leaf's tenacity shames her, making her feel ungrateful. She confesses to Sue that it was wrong to want to die, recognizing the leaf's message of perseverance. This new will to live marks a turning point in her illness. She begins to ask for food and expresses a desire to paint again, showing a return to health and hope.

7. The Doctor's Optimism

   The next day, the doctor visits Johnsy again. After examining her, he tells Sue that Johnsy's chances of recovery have greatly improved. He credits this change entirely to Johnsy's renewed will to live, stating that medicine can now be effective. He is encouraged by her desire for food and her positive outlook. He then mentions that he needs to visit another patient, an old man named Behrman, who is also suffering from pneumonia, indicating the severity of the winter's illness. Sue is overjoyed by the news of Johnsy's recovery and begins to help her get better.

8. Behrman's Masterpiece

   Two days later, the doctor informs Sue that Behrman has died in the hospital. He had been found in his studio, suffering from pneumonia, his clothes and shoes wet and cold. Beside him were a ladder, a lantern, and a palette with green and yellow paints still mixed. Sue then goes to Johnsy and reveals the truth: the last leaf Johnsy had seen on the wall was not real. It was Behrman's masterpiece, painted by him on the wall during that terrible, stormy night. He had braved the cold and rain to paint it, sacrificing his own life to save Johnsy's.

9. The Ultimate Sacrifice

   Sue explains to Johnsy that Behrman, the cynical old man who had always dreamed of painting a masterpiece but never achieved it, found his purpose in this selfless act. He had climbed the ladder in the freezing rain and wind to paint that single, enduring leaf, knowing it was the only way to restore Johnsy's hope and will to live. His sacrifice was complete; he gave his life to create the illusion that saved another. The painting, though temporary and exposed to the elements, was indeed his masterpiece, born of compassion and artistic dedication. Johnsy, now fully recovered, understands the depth of his love and sacrifice.

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