Illnesses In Engelberg's The Death Of Ivan Ilyich

Chaining him to his bed, this event feels more like a prison warden than it should. Ultimately, what Ivan’s illness does is set him free from the bondage of his utilitarian routine. “A domestic tragedy, a deliberately trivialized punishment for his hubris, is now set earnestly in motion, for this innocent fall from the stepladder is the catalyst which brings to the surface Ivan Ilyich’s ‘incurable illness.’” (Engelberg 295) The “incurable illness” that Engelberg here refers to is the very same meaningless life that plagues Gregor just the same. These illnesses that both Gregor and Ivan have contracted, whether they be literal illnesses or otherwise, serve a greater purpose than to simply awake these men from their comatose life. In fact, the authors of the texts inflicted very specific conditions upon both men in such a way that the conditions themselves reflect the men that they afflict. The true nature of these
As Tolstoy foreshadows in the title of his work, The Death of Ivan Ilyich is the story of a slow, agonizing death. Of course, unlike Gregor, Ivan has been terminal for weeks, since nearly midway through the story. Thus, in this tale, the protagonist is given much more time to reflect upon his impending death. Perhaps this was needed, however, as Ivan is still unable to come to his point of acceptance until the end of the novella. During his final weeks, Ivan experiences the same excruciating level of pain that Gregor does. Like Gregor, however, Ivan’s reflections begin to drown out that pain. “In fact, in his last hours Ivan seems unaware of his screaming; he is oblivious to his physical condition, undoubtedly because of his new view of life. Ivan’s mindset in this last period of his life can be seen as a stage of dying, the end of his depression and the beginning of his acceptance of death.” (Gutsche 262) In the end, Ivan, like Gregor, welcomed death in the midst of their