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She arranged her board and began a pen-and-ink drawing to illustrate a magazine story. Young artists must pave their way to Art by drawing pictures for magazine stories that young authors write to pave their way to Literature.
Sue is terribly upset by the doctor’s grim prognosis. Thinking that Johnsy is asleep, she gets to work on her drawing. As a young artist, she must sacrifice her artistic aspirations by making commercial art. The sacrifice allows her to hone her skills, yet it is also necessary to pay her bills and survive, especially since Johnsy is too sick to work. Sue puts aside her own interests to provide for the ailing Johnsy.
Mr. Behrman died of pneumonia to-day in the hospital. He was ill only two days. 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.
As Johnsy recovers, Behrman catches pneumonia and dies. At first, readers might think that he caught pneumonia by chance—just another of the many New Yorkers who have caught it. But the “two days” timing suggests that he took ill directly after posing for Sue and seeing Johnsy’s condition. The evidence suggests that Behrman became ill by being out in the cold and wet weather painting the last leaf on the neighboring building’s wall. He sacrificed his health to give Johnsy the hope she needed to survive. Yet in his sacrifice, he also created his masterpiece.
