What is Pathos in Literature?

Header illustration for Reedsy's What is Pathos? Definition and Examples in Literature article. For this one, we used part of one of the stories/examples used in the article, coming from Lily King's Writers & Lovers.

"But right on the heels of that feeling, that suspicion that all is not yet lost, comes the urge to tell my mother, tell her that I am okay today, that I have felt something close to happiness, that I might still be capable of feeling happy. She will want to know that. But I can’t tell her.”

[Below: initial pencils + rough colour sketch + final illustration comparison] 👇