Gwilan's Identity In The Washwoman And The Last Leaf

Many people experience loss in their life at some point. This is the theme that the authors of “Gwilan’s Harp” by Ursula K. LeGuin, “The Washwoman” by Isaac Singer, and “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry make relatable. In “Gwilan’s Harp,” Gwilan finds herself in a crisis when the things she knows as her identity escape her grasp. She experiences both emotional loss and the loss of her once strong hands. The old washwoman, introduced in “The Washwoman,” dies at an old age, having lived a full life of serving others until her last days. A young girl featured in “The Last Leaf,” Joanna (more oftenly known as Johnsy), battles pneumonia and struggles with hope for life; but hope appears from a kind neighbor. Throughout the stories, Gwilan faces emotional

From the beginning of Gwilan’s life, “harpist” becomes her identity to all that knew her, which then becomes her identity when she looks at herself. Tragically, her elegant harp breaks in an unfortunate accident, and Gwilan does not have the funds to repair or replace it herself. Gwilan’s wrists sadly breaks in the same accident, which gives her arthritis later on. Her arthritis then prohibits her playing the harp. As Gwilan is pondering her life’s circumstances she says, “I thought my harp was myself. But it was not”(LeGuin). Toward the conclusion of the short story, the loss in Gwilan’s life makes itself clear, physical loss because of her arthritis and an emotional loss because of her lack in

Sweet Susan, her roommate, worries that Johnsy will never make a full recovery from the deadly disease. “Mr. Pneumonia was not what you would call a chivalric old gentleman”(O. Henry). While Johnsy lies in her hospital bed, she counts down the leaves on the ivy tree outside of her window, declaring that when the last one fell, she will draw her last breath. A fellow hospital patient, Mr. Behrman who also has contracted pneumonia, faces the bitter cold in hopes of restoring life to Johnsy. He paints a single ivy leaf on a canvas so that Johnsy will not lose her young life in that hospital bed. Sadly, amidst the process of determining Johnsy will not give up hope, he gets too cold in the winter air and dies a couple hours later. The type of loss is definitely physical loss with Mr. Behrman’s death, but in the end, there is the hope of life personified after a heroic feat of a