"All the same, we cling to our last pleasures as the tree cling to its last leaves"-comment on the analogy.

This line is quoted  from Katherine Mansfield's celebrated short story The Fly. This comment is made in connection with Mr. Woodifield an old fellow, who is allowed to visit his friends only on Tuesday. The story-teller refers here to the instinctive  human attachment to old pleasures by means of an analogy of the tree, drawn from the world of nature.

       After he has been attacked with a heart stroke, Mr. Woodifield  is kept confined to his home, except on Tuesday. Tuesday is his only holiday and in this very day he meets his friends and passes his time in his old reckless  manner. In this connection, The Story-teller  reflects on the nature of man to remain fond of his past habits and manners. Even when  man grows old and  becomes inactive for some reasons, one cannot forget his old mode of living. The story-teller, here, compares this human habit of clinging to old pleasure with the attachment of the trees to their last leaves.A tree retains its dry leaves, till they are shaken off totally. Similarly, men are fond of their old habits,as long as they live.

         Mansfield's remark  is quite meaningful and appropriate. The analogy in this respect is quite happily conceived. In this analogy , there is a slight touch of humour also. This comparison brings out the storyteller's intelligency  and her sense of humour.