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Behrman had drawn that leaf on the wall the same night without
bothering about the rain or cold. He had died the next day of
pneumonia.

Key Points

 ‘The Last Leaf’ is a story of supreme sacrifice by an old artist
Behrman.
 Sue and Johnsy are two artists. They share a small flat.
 Johnsy suffers from pneumonia. She links her illness with the
leaves of ivy creepers.
 She has made up her mind that with the fall of the last leaf of
the ivy creeper, she would also die.
 Her illness is made worse by these negative thoughts.
Medicines have no effect on her illness.
 Sue, her best friend suggests to her that she should stop
thinking negatively.
 One night, it rains heavily and there was a storm too. Johnsy
thinks that the last leaf would fall anytime and she would also
die with the fall of that leaf.
 Johnsy peeps through the window to make herself sure
whether the leaf has fallen or not. To her surprise, she finds
that the leaf was still on the creeper when she woke up in the
morning.
 Sue tells Johnsy that the leaf is still there and quite green and
healthy. It has not fallen.
 Now Johnsy smiles and starts recovering in her health as
well.
 Finally Sue discloses the truth that the last leaf on the ivy
creeper is actually Behrman’s masterpiece. He painted it on
the night of the storm when the last leaf fell so that Johnsy
does not lose her hope. He died of pneumonia the next
morning.

Character Sketch

Behrman:

Behrman is a 60 year old painter. He lived on the ground floor of
the house where Sue and Johnsy lived. He had a long lifelong
dream to paint a masterpiece. Sue told him about the condition of
Johnsy. Johnsy felt that she would die, once the last leaf fell from
the ivy creeper. Behrman thought of a plan to save Johnsy. He went
out in the rainy and stormy night and painted a picture of a leaf on