Loss In Gwilan's Harp

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In “Gwilan’s Harp” by Ursula K. Le Guin, Gwilan loses a precious possession she treasures as well as her spouse. All her loss started with the destruction of her harp. A simple thing such as a shadow spooking a horse resulted in a tragedy for Gwilan. As she and Torm got thrown from the cart, Gwilan unfortunately lost both her harp and her ability to play due to a broken wrist. Torm later caught an illness and died so Gwilan, overcome with sadness, wanted to play a lament on her harp. However because of her arthritis she could not play the harp and realized her identity had become obscured. “I thought Torm’s wife was myself, but she was not…I have nothing left at all now but myself” (Le Guin). Not only did Gwilan experience the sense of loss, …show more content…
In a sense the washwoman lost her son. Ashamed of his mother’s job, he no longer communicated with her and did not invite her to important parts of his life such as his wedding. This loss was especially difficult because her son made a deliberate choice to not have a relationship with her. Not only did the washwoman experience loss, but her Jewish employers did as well. They love the washwoman because of her hard work, character, and dedication. After a terrible storm in which she became sick, she returned to the caring family, who became overjoyed with her wellbeing. However, at the end of the story the loving washwoman dies and the Jewish family feels complete loss because they not only lost their washwoman, but they also lost a close friend.

The characters in “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry also experience loss of something and someone they love. As soon as Johnsy gets pneumonia she immediately loses hope in surviving. She constantly watches the wall with the ivy vine to see the last leaf fall so she can go too. However, O. Henry put a twist on the end of the story and instead of Johnsy dying, Behrman died. He went out into the rain when the last leaf fell to paint a leaf. In order that he might save Johnsy, Behrman sacrificed himself. Both Sue and Johnsy felt an overwhelming loss that Behrman, the grumpy old neighbor, sacrificed himself for
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