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A review by danielle_w
The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy
5.0
Oh, Tolstoy, the genius who wrote for the masses. Every time I pick up his books I'm determined to not be influenced by his dazzling reputation but I'm always dazzled nonetheless.
Might I suggest this to be Tolstoy's most important short story? This little paperback includes both 'Ivan Illyich' and the short story 'Three Deaths' (that one's rather forgettable). In this, Tolstoy explores what it means to die well- when you're sick and rapidly declining and KNOW death is to be faced. It is an unpleasant and uncomfortable read because the reader is truly confronted with one's own mortality- the ugly path that we must all be forced to take in one way or another. We see how death can make one cruel, bitter, and then elated for different reasons. How the people surrounding the dying are often unwilling to face the reality of death and distance themselves in the hour of need. How isolating suffering is. How the servant Gerasim becomes Ivan's only true friend, demonstrating how death is a true equalizer. As someone who has gone through pretty intense physical suffering myself, I was astounded to find descriptions that rang absolutely true, to find it put into words how agonizing it is to wake up from medication and sleep to find still no relief- the way it causes one's soul to cry out to God.
If you are uncomfortable with death and suffering, read this short story.
(Another subplot that can be teased out here is the marriage between Ivan and Praskovya. Tolstoy leads us to believe that Praskovya was an absolute wretch who made Ivan's life miserable- took him down with her- and that we should pity Ivan throughout the story for this. However, reading some of Tolstoy's wife's recently-published diaries has put a new spin on this read. The Tolstoys had a very rocky marriage and Leo was a rather cruel husband. It's difficult to not read this into the Ilyich's marriage as well. Because this narrative is told- and therefore controlled- by Ivan, one has to wonder whether Praskovya was truly the evil witch that he makes her out to be. Ivan restricts her, picks fights, and belittles the death of their children while she is grieving. When he is dying, she makes attempts to care for him, even though they are fumbling. The reader has to wonder whether Tolstoy meant for us to see how complex the marriage relationship is, the subjectivity of one perspective, and that both parties are to blame or whether it is just subconscious theme shining through. Intended or not, this story serves as a great survey of both the death of a body and the death of a marriage.)
Might I suggest this to be Tolstoy's most important short story? This little paperback includes both 'Ivan Illyich' and the short story 'Three Deaths' (that one's rather forgettable). In this, Tolstoy explores what it means to die well- when you're sick and rapidly declining and KNOW death is to be faced. It is an unpleasant and uncomfortable read because the reader is truly confronted with one's own mortality- the ugly path that we must all be forced to take in one way or another. We see how death can make one cruel, bitter, and then elated for different reasons. How the people surrounding the dying are often unwilling to face the reality of death and distance themselves in the hour of need. How isolating suffering is. How the servant Gerasim becomes Ivan's only true friend, demonstrating how death is a true equalizer. As someone who has gone through pretty intense physical suffering myself, I was astounded to find descriptions that rang absolutely true, to find it put into words how agonizing it is to wake up from medication and sleep to find still no relief- the way it causes one's soul to cry out to God.
If you are uncomfortable with death and suffering, read this short story.
(Another subplot that can be teased out here is the marriage between Ivan and Praskovya. Tolstoy leads us to believe that Praskovya was an absolute wretch who made Ivan's life miserable- took him down with her- and that we should pity Ivan throughout the story for this. However, reading some of Tolstoy's wife's recently-published diaries has put a new spin on this read. The Tolstoys had a very rocky marriage and Leo was a rather cruel husband. It's difficult to not read this into the Ilyich's marriage as well. Because this narrative is told- and therefore controlled- by Ivan, one has to wonder whether Praskovya was truly the evil witch that he makes her out to be. Ivan restricts her, picks fights, and belittles the death of their children while she is grieving. When he is dying, she makes attempts to care for him, even though they are fumbling. The reader has to wonder whether Tolstoy meant for us to see how complex the marriage relationship is, the subjectivity of one perspective, and that both parties are to blame or whether it is just subconscious theme shining through. Intended or not, this story serves as a great survey of both the death of a body and the death of a marriage.)