The little Willow By Francis Tower

Summary
“The Little Willow” is a story of silent love. Both Lisby and Simon love each other, but they do
not express their love for each other. The army officers on leave are always welcomed in the
courthouse. Three sisters Charlotte, Brenda, and Lisby live in that courthouse. Lisby is the
youngest. She is different from her sisters. Her sisters are insincere and hollow.
When Simon Byrne comes to the courthouse for the first time, he stands there on the threshold
for some time. Lisby looks at him and realizes that he was his kind of person. They have
common interests. Both Lisby and Byrne love each other, but do not express their love to each
other.
When he comes to say goodbye, she gives him a little Willow tree as a gift. Later he is killed in a
war prison camp. The war ends and the lovers of Charlotte and Brenda return safely.
Once a guest tells Lisby that he was with Simon when he died. He tells her that Simon loved the
girl who had given her a willow tree. Lisby tells him her secret that Simon was her love.
When she comes to know that Simon loved her she feels very good. She is waiting for this.
When her sister tells her that there is no letter for her, she tells her that she has received her
letter.

Q.1 Lisby Avery is different from her sisters. Discuss. Lisby has genuine emotions of
love and sympathies for others and she loves things because of their spiritual values.
Discuss. Compare the characters of Lisby and her two elder sisters.

No doubt, Lisby Avery is difficult from her two elder sisters. She has genuine emotions of love
and sympathies for others. She loves things because of their spiritual beauty.
When we read the story carefully, we find that Lisby loves painting, the willow tree, and Simon
Byrne because of their spiritual beauty. She loves the picture for its holiness and not for
aesthetic reasons. The willow tree has spiritual values too. She has bought the willow tree with
her first term’s salary. Its apparent beauty does not impress her. Actually, she bought it because
of the idea in the mind of the Chinese artist.
She loves Simon Byrne because he also appreciates the spiritual beauty of things. He is just
like her. That is why she thinks: “It almost seems as if he might be my kind of person.”
As for her elder sisters, they do not like things because of their spiritual values. The picture is in
the room because of Lisby. Her sisters think; “Lisby would die if we banished the picture.” They
do not like the willow tree either. They do not like Simon Byrne because he does not talk much.
They do not have genuine emotions of sympathy either. Brenda is a hypocrite and she can
change the tone of her voice just to entrap others. As for Lisby, she has genuine emotions of
sympathy. Sometimes, she gives company to a neglected person just out of sympathy.
Therefore, we can conclude that Lisby Avery is different from her two elder sisters. She has
genuine emotions of love and sympathies for others. She loves things because of their spiritual
beauty.
Q.2 Discuss the characters of the three sisters in the light of Charlotte's comments: “I
feel we rather swamp her, you know – like two arc lamps putting out the moonlight. Now,
isn’t that a tribute to our Lis?” The two elder sisters are charmers but Lisby is not.
Discuss. Discuss the characters of three sisters in comparison and tell clearly whom you
like the most and why? Write a character sketch of Lisby Avery. Lisby Avery is not a
charmer like her elder sisters. Discuss.

When we have a comparative study of the characters of the three sisters, we find that Lisby
Avery is quite different from her elder sisters.
Lisby Avery is not a charmer like her elder sister. She does not try to impress others by her way
of speaking. She doesn't like to play the cello like Brenda. She does not change the tone of her
voice just to entrap others. Brenda agrees when Charlotte says, “I feel we rather swamp her,
you know – like two arc lamps putting out the moonlight. Now isn’t that a tribute to our Lis?”
Unlike her sisters, she is a sincere lover. She doesn't love Simon because of his apparent
personality. She loves him because he is her kind of person. The two elder sisters are hollow
and superficial. They do not love others sincerely. They do not have any taste for the spiritual
beauty of things.Brenda keeps the pictures of all her dead lovers, but she feels no grief for
them. She at once forgets her dead lover and starts loving a fresh one.
Charlotte is just like Brenda. She tells her sisters about the death of Simon very casually.
However, Lisby takes it so seriously that her legs tremble and she hides her feelings with great
difficulty. In short, Brenda and Charlotte are “…the types of the seductive women at any age.”
However, Lisby is “…like watching a girl who holds a basket on her hand in the background of Al
Gore's Christ in the Temple.”
I think this remark of the writer throws ample light on the character of Lisby. I like Lisby for her
good qualities of character.

Q.3 Why does Lisby fall in love with Simon Byrne? How do Lisby and Simon get attracted
to each other? What is the reason behind the love of Lisby and Simon?

Lisby loves Simon Byrne not for his physical appearance, but for his inner qualities. When
Simon comes for the first time, she sees extraordinary delight on his face. Therefore, she at
once senses his inner qualities. She comes to know that he is her kind of person.
Later she gives a little start when Simon appreciates the picture and tells her, “The picture has
been loved by people who are dead…” She thinks, “It almost seems as if he might be my kind of
person.” She starts loving him passionately. When he listens to Brenda playing spellbound, she
feels jealous. She does not want him impressed by Brenda. He appreciates the willow tree that
nobody else has appreciated. She thinks that he is a person one can talk to. The things that
make Lisby laugh make him laugh too. Sometimes he catches her eyes and they go off a silent
fit of laughter. He hums the same tunes as are liked by her. Therefore, we can conclude that
Lisby falls in love with Simon because he is his kind of person. They have the same likes and
dislikes.
Q.4 What are the symbolic meanings of the picture and the willow tree? What is the
significance of the picture and the willow tree?

The picture and the willow tree have great symbolic meanings and significance in the story “The
Little Willow”. The picture represents the characters of Lisby and Simon. The willow tree
represents not only their characters, but also the nature of love between them.
Her two elder sisters are hollow and do not like the picture and the willow tree. Lisby and Simon
like them because of their spiritual values. Lisby thinks about Simon, “It almost seems as if he
might be my kind of person.” Therefore, it means that both Simon and Lisby are impressed by
the spiritual value of things. It throws light on their characters.
The little willow tree represents not only their characters but also the nature of love between
them. Lisby loves Simon because he is a man of ideas. He is a man who can look beyond the
surface of things. He is not impressed by the physical appearance of things, but only by their
spiritual beauty. He is ‘cool’ just like the Willow tree. It does not broadcast its beauty just like
Lisby and Simon.
Lisby gives the little willow tree to Simon on his departure. Therefore, it is a token of unexpected
love between them.Its breaking represents the death of physical love. It also symbolizes the
strength of love that consoles and comforts lovers when they are in some kind of difficulty.
Therefore, we can conclude that the picture and the willow tree have great symbolic meaning
and significance in the story.

Q.5 “The Little Willow” is a story of silent love. Discuss.

No doubt, “The Little Willow” is a story of silent love. When we read the story carefully, we find
that both Lisby and Simon love each other very passionately, but they do not express their love
to each other.
This love is so silent that Simon is not sure about Lisby’s love until his death. When he comes
for the last time to say good-bye, he tries to express his love, but does not. Its reason is that he
is not sure about Lisby’s love.
Similar is the case with Lisby. She is not sure about Simon’s love. She thinks that he is in love
with her sister Brenda. It was after his death she came to know that Simon loved her and not
her sister. Therefore, this is silent love.
They both fall in love with each other at first sight. When Lisby sees Simon for the first time, she
thinks about Simon, “It almost seems as if he might be my kind of person.” However, she does
not express it to him. She starts loving him passionately. When he listens to Brenda playing the
cello spellbound, she feels jealous and does not want him impressed by Brenda.
Simon appreciates the willow tree that nobody else has appreciated. She thinks that he is a
person one can talk to. The things that make Lisby laugh make him laugh too. Sometimes, he
catches her eyes and they go off into a silent fit of laughter. He hums the same turns as are
liked by her.
Therefore, they love each other. However, it is silent love and nobody knows about it. Lisby’s
elder sisters do not know about it either. Even Lisby and Simon themselves are not sure about
it.
Q.6 Discuss the title of the story?
This is a touching tale of an unexpressed love. The strength of unrequited love gives depth and
width to the idea of life and existence. A young quiet girl falls in love with a war-beaten soldier
who comes to her home and kindles the deep and compassionate relation of love in Lisby’s
naïve heart. Their love is sacred like a candle burning in a hermit’s cave whose flashes never go
out but it brightens the whole world with its suppressed light.
A little willow made of jade and crystal becomes the symbol of their silent love. On Simon’s
departure Lisby gives him the most precious thing that she owns…a little willow tree “for luck”.
He keeps it as a token of his love with himself even on the war front. This tree becomes the
symbol of his beloved Lisby who silently runs like deep waters but never shows any ripples on
the surface. She burns with the heat of Simon’s love but never lets any spark out in front of him
or anyone else. When the bombshell hits Simon and he gets injured the little willow present in
his kit is also smashed. Their love bond is physically broken as Simon is going to die. But the
bond of soul is bound to prosper, as his death is to bring the expression of his deep love for
Lisby. So the title of the story is the symbol of the relation of love and its nature. It is the outward
emblem of the union of two quiet but extremely beautiful souls