Given that Ko begins
The Leavers by acknowledging that Polly is about to disappear, it’s not terribly surprising that she suddenly fails to come home after work. However, readers are left to guess why, exactly, she vanishes. It seems likely that she decided to move to Florida, but she’s also just told Deming that this isn’t happening. Plus, it would be rather surprising if she left Deming behind on purpose. On the one hand, it’s clear she misses her independence, but on the other hand, her love of her son seems to outweigh that yearning for personal freedom. As such, Ko puts readers in a state of confusion regarding her disappearance—one that mirrors Deming’s own perplexity.