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Sue
An old and somewhat cantankerous artist who lives downstairs from Sue and Johnsy. He has been painting for four decades without any commercial success, but still hopes to paint what he calls his “masterpiece.” He is an alcoholic and earns money by posing as a model for artists in the neighborhood. Despite his gruff exterior, he has a soft spot for Sue and Johnsy. He is initially dismissive of the idea that leaves on a vine could have anything to do with Johnsy’s health, but ultimately goes outside on a cold and rainy night to paint a realistic-looking leaf onto the wall outside her window so that she will think one last leaf has miraculously survived the storm. As a result of this sacrifice, he catches pneumonia and dies—but Sue remarks that he had finally painted his masterpiece.
Behrman Quotes in The Last Leaf
The The Last Leaf quotes below are all either spoken by Behrman or refer to Behrman. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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The Last Leaf Quotes
Behrman was a failure in art. Forty years he had wielded the brush without getting near enough to touch the hem of his Mistress's robe. He had been always about to paint a masterpiece, but had never yet begun it…He drank gin to excess, and still talked of his coming masterpiece.
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Behrman is described as a “failure in art” because after decades of painting he has never “touch[ed] the hem of his Mistress’s robe.” The mistress, in this case, is a reference to the figure of the Muse (traditionally personified as a woman) who would have inspired him to create a great work of art. Behrman has become an alcoholic, presumably as a result of his unhappiness, poverty, and the repeated disappointment he has faced in his creative endeavors. Therefore, through the character of Behrman, O. Henry seems to be commenting on the plight of the “starving artist.” Behrman is an Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta ita
“Is dere people in de world mit der foolishness to die because leafs dey drop off from a confounded vine? I haf not heard of such a thing. No, I will not bose as a model for your fool hermit-dunderhead. Vy do you allow dot silly business to come in der brain of her? Ach, dot poor leetle Miss Yohnsy.”
“She is very ill and weak,” said Sue, “and the fever has left her mind morbid and full of strange fancies. Very well, Mr. Behrman, if you do not care to pose for me you needn’t. But I think you are a horrid old—old flibbertigibbet.”
“You are just like a woman!” yelled Behrman. “Who said I will not bose? Go on. I come mit you. For half an hour I haf been trying to say dot I am ready to bose.”
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Leaving the sick Johnsy upstairs, Sue goes to visit their downstairs neighbor, Behrman, and asks him to pose for her illustration. When she tells him about Johnsy’s “fancy” that she will die when the last leaf falls, Behrman is at first outraged, denouncing such “foolishness” in severe terms, calling her a “dunderhead,” and even insulting Sue by saying “You are just like a woman.” That Behrman’s insult is about Sue’s gender suggests the prejudice women continued to face in the period. Behrman’s implication is that women tend to be irrational and jump to conclusions. However, the tenderness of his concern Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus p
The janitor found him on the morning of the first day in his room downstairs helpless with pain. His shoes and clothing were wet through and icy cold. They couldn’t imagine where he had been on such a dreadful night. And then they found a lantern, still lighted, and a ladder that had been dragged from its place and some scattered brushes, and a palette with green and yellow colors mixed on it, and—look out the window, dear, at the last ivy leaf on the wall. Didn’t you wonder why it never fluttered or moved when the wind blew? Ah, darling, it’s Behrman's masterpiece—he painted it there the night that the last leaf fell.
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O. Henry’s short stories are famous for their surprise endings, and “The Last Leaf” is no exception. Henry reveals at the end that all the leaves did fall from the vine in the storm, and the “last leaf” is not really a leaf at all but a painting of a leaf by Behrman (which explains why “it never fluttered or moved when the wind blew”). The illusionistic nature of the leaf proves that Sue and Behrman were right that the leaves had nothing to do with Johnsy’s health: it was Johnsy herself who had to decide to get better. At Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Qui
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Behrman Character Timeline in The Last Leaf
The timeline below shows where the character Behrman appears in The Last Leaf. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Last Leaf
Sue goes to visit their downstairs neighbor, an old, alcoholic, and unsuccessful artist named Behrman who earns a small income posing as a model for artists in Greenwich Village. Behrman,...
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The doctor tells the women that he has to visit another patient—Behrman has caught pneumonia and needs to be taken to the hospital. The next day, Sue...
(full context)
