Giving a thing, an animal or an abstract idea actions, feelings or speech proper to a person.
In The Death of Ivan Ilyich
It is not the appendix, it is not the kidney; the case is life and... death. Yes, life existed, and here it is going away, going away, and I cannot stop it.
Life "goes away" like someone leaving the house, and he cannot hold it back. The image gives life a movement of its own and leaves Ivan Ilyich in the position of one who stays at the door.