A Departure Without Closure

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Holly’s flight closes her New York chapter without settling the questions of love, home, or return that have shaped her relationships.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Plans for Rio Plans for Rio from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". A Destination Appears Life with José Holly imagines marriage, children, and a new household in Brazil.

Plans for Rio from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". A Destination Appears Life with José Holly imagines marriage, children, and a new household in Brazil.

A Destination Appears Life with José Holly imagines marriage, children, and a new household in Brazil. Her language changes from open-ended travel to a future with a named destination. The Narrator’s Unease He worries that she will leave and feels excluded from the future she describes. Their closeness cannot make him part of her plans.

The Public Scandal The Public Scandal from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". The Future Collapses Arrest and Headlines Holly is arrested in connection with Sally Tomato’s drug case.

The Public Scandal from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". The Future Collapses Arrest and Headlines Holly is arrested in connection with Sally Tomato’s drug case.

The Future Collapses Arrest and Headlines Holly is arrested in connection with Sally Tomato’s drug case. The newspapers present her as a glamorous criminal and expose her private visits to public scrutiny. The Missing Support The expected marriage to José disappears, and many social acquaintances refuse to help. Her planned departure becomes a desperate decision instead of a shared beginning.

The Letter and the Choice The Letter and the Choice from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". A Future Reconsidered José’s Departure Holly learns that José has left because he fears scandal.

The Letter and the Choice from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". A Future Reconsidered José’s Departure Holly learns that José has left because he fears scandal.

A Future Reconsidered José’s Departure Holly learns that José has left because he fears scandal. His letter ends the marriage she had counted on and leaves her without the home she imagined. The Legal Dilemma The authorities want her testimony against Sally, while the narrator wants her to stay and contest the case. Holly refuses and decides that she will leave anyway.

The Storm Journey The Storm Journey from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Departure in Bad Weather The Packed Belongings The narrator carries Holly’s luggage through rain and wind to Joe Bell’s bar.

The Storm Journey from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Departure in Bad Weather The Packed Belongings The narrator carries Holly’s luggage through rain and wind to Joe Bell’s bar.

Departure in Bad Weather The Packed Belongings The narrator carries Holly’s luggage through rain and wind to Joe Bell’s bar. Even the simple work of gathering her possessions becomes difficult and frightening. The Limousine Ride Joe provides a car despite condemning her choice. Holly hums, drinks brandy, and looks out at the city she is about to leave.

The Unsent Address The Unsent Address from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". A Postcard from Abroad Buenos Aires News Holly writes that Brazil was beastly and Buenos Aires nearly felt like Tiffany & Co.

The Unsent Address from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". A Postcard from Abroad Buenos Aires News Holly writes that Brazil was beastly and Buenos Aires nearly felt like Tiffany & Co.

A Postcard from Abroad Buenos Aires News Holly writes that Brazil was beastly and Buenos Aires nearly felt like Tiffany & Co. She says she is looking for a place to live and will send her address later. An Open Ending No address arrives. The narrator has news of his own but nowhere to send it, and the novel closes with uncertainty about whether Holly has found a home.

Late summer before the arrest

On the evening of the narrator’s birthday

During Holly’s hospital stay

The Saturday Holly leaves New York

The spring after Holly disappears