Every human will at some point experience loss. Loss permeates society with its deadly fingers and it plagues even the most cheerful of people. This tragedy finds itself in a story about a harpist named Gwilan, a tale about an elderly washwoman, and in a fictional account of a sickly artist. They all encounter similar forms of loss and all relate to each other through them. Thus, in Ursula K. LeGuin’s “Gwilan’s Harp”, Isaac Singer’s “The Washwoman,” and O. Henry’s “The Last Leaf,” the main characters suffer loss.
Gwilan, the key character in “Gwilan’s Harp,” tragically experiences the loss of two irreplaceable items: her health and her husband. She may lose her harp, but that can be replaced, life and well-being lack this contingency. For instance, in a cart wreck she breaks her wrist and while healing, her wrist grew stiff and took her ability to play. She did not lose her skill as a harpist, she lost her dexterity and as a result her ability to play her harp. Further, she married a man named Torm who took care of her and who tried very hard to replace her harp. But he fell ill and passed away. Gwilan lost her spouse, her love, her other half, something that would forever leave a void in her heart. Therefore, Gwilan may lose a musical instrument, but the loss of health and her husband leaves…show more content… As she fights the cold and cleans laundry, she not only loses her vigor, but the respect and love of her son. For example, an elderly person is by nature more susceptible towards disease, much more so when they expose themselves to the elements. The seventy five year old washwoman stood no chance against the cold and lost her life to the frigid air. Because her son found her work undesirable, the washwoman also lost her son’s support and love. She insisted on supporting herself and in the process sacrificed her relationship with her son. In the end, the washwomen lost not only her life, but her son