The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy
"The Death of Ivan Ilyich," written by Leo Tolstoy, is a profound exploration of mortality, the nature of life, and societal hypocrisy. The story begins with the death of Ivan Ilyich, a respected judge, and the indifferent reactions of his colleagues, who are more concerned about their own professional advancement than mourning the loss. As the narrative unfolds, it delves into Ivan's life, portraying him as a man who carefully navigates the social expectations of his time, ultimately leading to a sense of emptiness and disconnection from his family and true self.
Ivan's comfortable yet superficial existence is shattered by a terminal illness, prompting a deep existential crisis. As he grapples with his impending death, he becomes increasingly aware of the hypocrisy surrounding him, particularly from his family, who are more preoccupied with appearances than genuine grief. In contrast, the character of Gerasim, a servant boy, represents a refreshing acceptance of death, highlighting the stark differences in attitudes toward mortality.
The narrative culminates in Ivan's personal revelation as he confronts his life choices and the truth about his existence. In his final moments, he experiences a profound transformation, finding clarity and a sense of liberation from fear, ultimately embracing the light and joy that comes with acceptance. This novella invites readers to reflect on the deeper meanings of life, love, and the inevitable nature of death.
The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy
First published:Smert Ivana Ilicha, 1886 (English translation, 1887)
Type of work: Novella
Type of plot: Psychological realism
Time of plot: 1880s
Locale: St. Petersburg and nearby provinces
Principal characters
Ivan Ilyich Golovin , a prominent Russian judgePraskovya Fedorovna Golovina , his wifePeter Ivanovitch , his colleagueGerasim , his servant boy
The Story
During a break in a hearing, a group of lawyers gathers informally. One, Peter Ivanovitch, interrupts the good-natured arguing of the others with the news that Ivan Ilyich, a colleague they greatly respect, is dead. Unwittingly, each thinks first of what this death means to his own chances of promotion, and each cannot help feeling relief that it is Ivan Ilyich and not himself who died.
That afternoon, Peter Ivanovitch visits the dead man’s home, where the funeral is to be held. Although he meets a playful colleague, Schwartz, he attempts to behave as correctly as possible under such sorrowful circumstances, as if by observing the proper protocol he can persuade himself into the proper feelings. He observes the corpse respectfully and talks with Ivan’s widow, Praskovya Fedorovna, but he is continually distracted during his talk by an unruly spring in the hassock on which he sits. While he struggles to keep his decorum, Praskovya speaks only of her own exhaustion and suffering. Peter is suddenly terrified by their mutual hypocrisy and longs to leave. Once the widow pumps him for information about her pension, she, too, is glad to end the conversation. At the funeral, Peter sees Ivan’s daughter and her fiancé, who are angrily glum, and Ivan’s little son, who is tear-stained but naughty. Only the servant boy, Gerasim, speaks cheerfully, for he is the only one who can accept death as natural. Peter leaves and hurries to his nightly card game.
Ivan Ilyich was the second and most successful of the three sons of a superfluous bureaucrat. An intelligent and popular boy, he seemed able to mold his life into a perfect pattern. As secretary to a provincial governor after completing law school, and later as an examining magistrate, he was the very model of conscientiousness mingled with good humor. He managed the decorum of his official position as well as the ease of his social one. Only marriage, although socially correct, did not conform to his ideas of decorum; his wife, not content to fulfill the role he chose for her, became demanding and quarrelsome. As a result, he increasingly shut himself off from his family (which grew with two children) and found the order and peace he needed in his judiciary affairs.
In 1880, however, he was shattered by the loss of two promotions. In desperation, he went to St. Petersburg, where a chance meeting led to his obtaining a miraculously good appointment. In the city, he found precisely the house he always wanted, and he worked to furnish it to his taste. Even a fall and a resulting bruise on his side did not dampen his enthusiasm. He and his wife were delighted with their new home, which they thought was aristocratic, although it looked like the homes of all those who wished to appear well-bred. To Ivan, life was at last as it should be: smooth, pleasant, and ordered according to an unwavering routine. His life was properly divided into the official and the personal, and he kept the two halves dexterously apart.
Ivan began to notice an increasing discomfort in his left side. He finally consulted a specialist, but the examination left him frightened and helpless, for although he understood the doctor’s objective attitude as akin to his own official one, he felt that it gave his pain a terrible significance. For a time, he felt that he was recovering by following prescriptions and learning all he could about his illness, but renewed attacks terrified him. Gradually Ivan found his whole life to be colored by the pain. Card games became trivial; friends seemed to do nothing but speculate on how long he would live. When Ivan’s brother-in-law came for a visit, his shocked look told Ivan how much illness changed him, and he suddenly realized that he faced not only illness but also death. Through deepening terror and despair Ivan shrank from this truth. Other men died, not he. Desperately, he erected screens against the pain and the knowledge of death it brought, but it lurked behind court duties and quarrels with his family. The knowledge that it began with the bruise on his side only made his condition harder to bear.
As Ivan grew steadily worse, drugs failed to help him, but the clean strength and honesty of the peasant boy, Gerasim, nourished him, for Ivan felt that his family members were hypocrites who chose to pretend that he was not dying. Death to them was not part of that same decorum he, too, once revered and was therefore hidden as unpleasant and shameful. Only Gerasim could understand his pain because only he admitted that death was real and natural.
Ivan retreated increasingly into his private anguish. He hated his knowing doctors, his plump, chiding wife, his daughter and her new fiancé. Lamenting, he longed to have his old, happy life again, but only memories of childhood revealed true happiness. Unwillingly he returned again and again to this knowledge as he continued questioning the reasons for his torment. If he always lived correctly, why was this happening to him? What if he was wrong? Suddenly, he knew that the faint urges he consciously stilled in order to do as people thought proper were the true urges. Since he did not know the truth about life, he also did not know the truth about death. His anguish increased as he thought of the irrevocable choice he made.
His wife brought the priest, whose sacrament eased him until her presence reminded him of his deceptive life. He screamed at her to leave him, and he continued screaming as he struggled against death, unable to relinquish the illusion that his life was good. Then the struggle ceased, and he knew that although his life was not right, it no longer mattered. Opening his eyes, he saw his wife and son weeping by his bedside. Aware of them for the first time, he felt sorry for them. As he tried to ask their forgiveness, everything became clear to him. He must not hurt them; he must set them free and free himself from his sufferings. The pain and fear of death were no longer there. Instead, there was only light and joy.
Bibliography
Bartlett, Rosamund. Tolstoy: A Russian Life. New York: Houghton , 2011. Print.
Christian, R. F. Tolstoy: A Critical Introduction. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1969.
Courcel, Martine de. Tolstoy: The Ultimate Reconciliation. Translated by Peter Levi. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1988.
Jahn, Gary R.“The Death of Ivan Ilich”: An Interpretation. New York: Twayne, 1993.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗, ed.“The Death of Ivan Il’ich”: A Critical Companion. Evanston, Ill.: Northwestern University Press, 1998.
McLean, Hugh. In Quest of Tolstoy. Boston: Academic Studies Press, 2008.
Noyes, George Rapall. Tolstoy. New York: Dover, 1968.
Papadimos, Thomas J. "The death of Ivan Ilych: A blueprint for intervention at the end of life." International Journal of Critical Illness and Injury Science . 1.2 (2011): 125–128. Web. 12 Jun. 2013.
Orwin, Donna Tussig, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Tolstoy. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Rowe, William W. Leo Tolstoy. Boston: Twayne, 1986.
Wilson, A.N. Tolstoy: A Biography. New York: Norton, 2001. Print.