As the title of this poignant story suggests, death is a
major preoccupation of this tale and Tolstoy uses it to explore his own feelings of
death and how a man can die well and be at peace with himself. If there is a moral to be
found in this story, it is to be discovered by considering the treatment of death and
the role it plays in the last few days and weeks of the life of Ivan Ilyich. Consider
what kind of a man Ivan Ilyich is:
Even when he was at the School of Law he was
just what he remained for teh rest of his life: a capable, cheerful, good-natured, and
sociable man, though strict in the fulfillment of what he considered to be his duty: and
he considered his duty to be what was so considered by those in
authority.
He is a man who
lives his life trying to meet the expectations of society, and it is this ironically
that causes his death, as it is when he is placing the curtains that he falls and
initiates his sickness. It is only his sickness that he becomes aware of the
superficiality of his situation and life. Death is not something that can be astutely
avoided or managed in the way that he has so cleverly managed his family and work. The
last three days, marked by Ivan Ilyich's screaming, only end when he is able to confront
and accept death in the same way that Gerasim so obviously does, compared to the way
that his wife and family avoid referring to "It" and refuse to acknowledge the truth of
Ivan Ilyich's inevitable decline. Thus the moral of the story seems to be that we all
need to accept death as a necessary part of life and not to ignore it as society
dictates. It is only then that we are able to love and lead meaningful lives, and Ivan
Ilyich discovers too late when he is finally able to discover the light that is in death
and love his wife and son.
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