The Death of Ivan Illych Leo Tolstoy

Henri Troyat (Biographer) “Beyond any doubt, the double story of the decomposing body and the awakening soul is one of the most powerful works in the literature of the world.”

BACK-GROUND 1886 Tolstoy was 57 & feared death greatly (obsessively) Toiled over it for nearly two years Based on the agonizing death of his brother, Nikolai, whom he dearly loved; as well as the death of an actual Ivan Ilych Mechnikov, a public prosecutor Of his brother, Tolstoy said he “suffered for more than a year, and died an agonizing death without comprehending what he had lived for, and still less why he should die.”

More Tolstoy said it was to be as account of “an ordinary man’s ordinary death” Tolstoy became a Christian before writing this Irony in opening of Part II – a sentence called the most frightening in all literature

Thoughts to Ponder Ivan’s professional existence – being absurd, parasitic, irrelevant and unauthentic – has swallowed his humanity and blinded him to what is real Tolstoy said he often felt like Ivan – society molding him to chase after power and be selfish and ambitious

Spiritual Awakening Tragedy is ultimately, “To see things plain … is the ultimate experience we shall have if we have leisure at the point of death … the relaxation of the unthinkable” – Clifford Leach. Ivan realizes the meaninglessness of his life, and at that moment, on the brink of death, he begins to live.

Important Symbols/Moments Gerasim – personifies compassion / Angelic figure/ sign that heaven exists. Tolstoy said there are few people who are comfortable in the gap between the “races” of the sick and the healthy Son kissing father’s hand (popular in fiction) – forgiveness – offering it is redemptive to both father and son – A great scene for analysis! (did you read A Day No Pigs Would Die?)

The Illumination Why is his son so unforgettable? Tearstained from true grief Kissing Ivan’s hand brings on the epiphany Gerasim = yes, there is a heaven He feels he can still set his life aright, is able to love at last; he feels sorry for his wife and son He is willing to give up the old life, and no longer fears death = REBIRTH, REDEMPTIOM

VERISIMILITUDE How is Ivan’s life very TRUE TO LIFE? Awkwardness around death, funerals Comic elements (absurd callousness) Marriage, brides, widows, having children Family Life – men retreating from wife, kids into work Stressing over meaningless things Workplace – daily routines, rising through the ranks, seeking power and affirmation

What the story does to US We wonder what is valuable in our own lives – beyond petty, everyday cares We wonder if we will be the next to die We examine our relationships Question how we might be struggling for meaninglessness

Randall Jarrell “We terribly identify ourselves” with Ivan Illych. “Ivan Illych’s life has been a conventional falsehood; The Death of Ivan Illych is the story of how he is tortured into the truth. No matter how alien they may have seemed to him to begin with, in the end the reader can dissociate neither from the falsehood, the torture, nor the truth: he is Ivan Illych.”