Summary of the lost phoebe by Theodore dreiser?

Answer 1

An old couple live a quiet, secluded life. They share a deep bond that has lasted many many years. The man is very set in his ways, and occasionally the woman will threaten to leave him, though they both know it's an empty threat. One spring the wife, Phoebe, gets sick and dies. After some time of living in seclusion Henry starts to see visions of her at night. He awakens one morning to the delusion that she isn't dead at all, but has just left him as she always said she would. He begins to travel the countryside looking for her. At first people pity him, give him food, and try to reason with him that his wife is dead, but he brushes them off and continues his search. After 7 years of looking for her he awakens one night from sleeping on a hilltop. He sees an apparition of his lost Phoebe, young and beautiful again. He begins to chase her as she passes through the trees. Finally he comes to a high cliff and sees her below among the apple trees. He cries "Oh, wait, Phoebe!" and leaps to his death. A few days later his body is found. The closing line is "No one of all the simple population knew how eagerly and joyously he had found his lost mate."