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thecurbau 's review for:
The Death of Ivan Ilych
by Leo Tolstoy
'What is the right thing?'
I'm not sure that Ivan Ilych was ever a good man in life, but through Tolstoy's eyes, we see him become one in the moments of death. It's quite possible that one of the few good things he did in his life was die.
But does the goodness of death negate the brutish behaviour he exhibited in life?
His family mourns him. He endures immense pain for weeks on end. He suffers at the hands of doctors who each wield yet another misdiagnosis that slinks him further into suffering. No doubt if Ivan were alive today, he might have been prescribed a hefty dose of meditation and yoga; yeah, that'll cure your detached kidney.
This is Tolstoy at his briefest, yet the gravity of what he's exploring is no less heavy than his other works. Maybe, because of the singular focus on the act of dying, this is a deeper text because of how easy it is to relate to one man's suffering into death.
I'm not sure that Ivan Ilych was ever a good man in life, but through Tolstoy's eyes, we see him become one in the moments of death. It's quite possible that one of the few good things he did in his life was die.
But does the goodness of death negate the brutish behaviour he exhibited in life?
His family mourns him. He endures immense pain for weeks on end. He suffers at the hands of doctors who each wield yet another misdiagnosis that slinks him further into suffering. No doubt if Ivan were alive today, he might have been prescribed a hefty dose of meditation and yoga; yeah, that'll cure your detached kidney.
This is Tolstoy at his briefest, yet the gravity of what he's exploring is no less heavy than his other works. Maybe, because of the singular focus on the act of dying, this is a deeper text because of how easy it is to relate to one man's suffering into death.