Tolstoy's The Death Of Ivan Ilych

Tolstoy’s meticulous account of the torture and pain of dying slowly depicts the moral struggles one must all come to terms with, the very real reality that death becomes encompasses all. What makes the transition from life to death easier many say it’s accomplishing what one searches for in life whether monetary wealth, social status, reproduction or spiritual redemption. In Tolstoy’s “The Death Of Ivan Ilych” the reoccurring theme of searching for love and consolation and the realization of death is evident throughout the short story. Despite his many accomplishments Ivan was also met by disappointments the deaths of several children, job failures, gambling problems and eventual depression. These are natural occurrences that everyone encounters in life, the difference being the moral and emotional support that people receive to overcome these obstacles. In Ivan case he chose to channel his emotions into advancing his career a choice many make in an effort to move on. His wife Praskovya, left to handle the emotions alone, seemed to have calloused her heart more and more with every death, that it is no wonder that when Ivan began to succumb to his illness Praskovya’s calloused heart had already accepted his fate. Much like the doctors that diagnosed Ivan’s ailment, after so many encounters
with death it becomes easy to say without compassion that one’s demise is close. Ivan refusing to accept his ailment as terminal chose to compare his own work ethics to the doctor’s indifferent attitude, concluding that he has a good probability of recovery. Ivan reevaluated his life and life choices and “he saw himself — all that for which he had lived — and saw clearly that it was not real at all, but a terrible and huge deception which had hidden both life and death.” His acceptance of this clearly states that he regretted drowning himself into work when he should have shown empathy to his wife during their hard times.
With a new perspective he began hating his family for allowing him to ruin himself. And as humans many share the guilt of blaming loved ones for not having their own life’s in order. It is important to accept that one’s life choices are their own to make and Ivan chose to use his family as a point of
blame. Despite all the obstacles that Ivan encountered after his prognosis, his wife and young son helped Ivan finally accept his fate. In the end one can agree that Ivan died peacefully seeing that he was indeed being mourned and he was loved. This is something that many are in search of and don’t receive until it is either too late or unwanted. The underlying moral in this short story is that love is the most important notion that is the hardest to accept, share and show to one another.