When someone dies, there is usually a legacy passed down to his or her loved ones. A legacy can either be their property or money bequeathed by will, or something handed down from an ancestor or from the past. This paper will examine Elizabeth's legacy to George through both of the above types of legacies.
When reading "Death" Anderson states that the eight hundred dollars given to Elizabeth from her father before his death did not go to George. Anderson writes that "On the evening when disease laid its heavy hand upon her and defeated her plans for telling her son George of the eight hundred dollars hidden away" (Anderson 232). This is the proof that Elizabeth planned to tell George about the money, but she failed to tell him before she died. This should have been one of Elizabeth's legacies to her son George but was not. .
Although George did not receive the money Elizabeth's true legacy to George was her death. Elizabeth's death got her out of Winesburg. Elizabeth wanted out of Winesburg and most importantly out of her life. George also wants to leave Winesburg, Ohio but before Elizabeth's death he doesn't know how and can't quite pull himself to leave yet because she still needs him. Sherwood Anderson states that "He again thought of his own affairs and definitely decided he would make a change in his life, that he would leave Winesburg. I will go to some city" (Anderson 234). Elizabeth's death was the final moment that allows opened the door in George's life to leave Winesburg.
These above passages give evidence from the story Death that support what Elizabeth's legacy to George is. Although Elizabeth did not pass on the money to George that she acquired from her father her death opened up a door in George's life and concluded his maturation. This paper allowed me to think more in depth about Anderson's idea of only being able to escape loneliness with love. .