The whole drama in Arles was undoubtedly van Gogh’s defining period, and the one that actually lead him to complete madness. But what happened after that? In the paper, the only period described is the period that van Gogh spent in Arles. Of course, the events in Arles had a major influence on van Gogh’s life after that, and as is stressed in the paper, they ultimately lead to his suicide.
On May 8, 1889, van Gogh was admitted to the Saint-Remy hospital and thus moved out from Arles. Although he was there well taken care of and well examined, an exact diagnosis of his ailment could never be set forth - no accurate case history was recorded by any of the doctors in whose care he found himself (Wallace 141). It seems that even here, where he was literally nurtured for a whole year, he could never recover not fully, but at all (Wallace 146). Wallace says in The World of Van Gogh that “In time, however, he became convinced that his health was being made worse, not better, by his continuing presence in Saint-Remy” (Wallace 146).
After the year he spent in Saint-Remy, Van Gogh moved to Auvers. Not even there did he manage to recover from his mental illness. On several occasions he had mental breakdowns again, and finally shot himself and died on the 29th of July 1890 (Wallace 165-6). He did not die the moment he shot himself. It was nearly 36 hours 
that it took him to pass away. During that time, he talked to Theo and seemed determined to his decision to put himself to death. When he was told that he had good chances for surviving, his response was just “Then I will have to do it all over again”. And when he saw his brother crying, he said “Do not cry, I did it for the good of everybody” (Wallace 166). We see that he did not even for a moment regret his decision. Moreover, he realized that what he did he did “for the good of everybody”. This proves that the main reason for his illness was of a social nature. He was ultimately alienated from society and realized that he is not being a productive member of society anymore. He was aware that he is not doing any good for anyone and that everyone would do better off without him. The heritage of Arles finally lead to his death.