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The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Death
10 years ago
Glimpse The Thoughts of Jack the Beaver
I'm sick as a dog with the flu. I've been waiting to write this for weeks now, might as well go ahead and do it. When I get sick, I fixate on dying. I do not want to die. Even when I know I'll get well, I still fear it. It's not an easy fear but a common one.
I want to talk about my favorite Tolstoy book, The Death of Ivan Ilyich. This story is less than 100 pages, about a high court judge named Ivan Ilyich. Ilyich is forty-five years old, wealthy, successful and his career is on the rise. He has a wife, a daughter, a son, a nice apartment, a series of servants and anything that a man could buy. Then he slips while hanging some curtains, injuring himself and leading to his death.
Ilyich at first notices a pain in his side, then a strange taste in his mouth. Doctors can't help him and his wife is more concerned with him getting back to work. Before long it's apparent he is dying. Soon Ilyich is laid up, he can't move due to intense pain and the only people who care are his son and servant.
During this long period, Ilyich reflects on death. He first searches for a way to avoid death. He can't find one, doctors and miracle cures don't help. He tries to find meaning in his death, except their is no meaning. He died from hanging curtains for God sake. Yet at the end, he quits being afraid. Why?
Ilyich reflects on his life, his wife's life. They are obsessed with the accumulation of things. They don't care for each other except in regard to how they can live a more comfortable life. This isn't a life though. It's an artificial nightmare existence. Ivan Ilyich isn't a man. He's a collection of stuff and titles.
True life is shown through his servant Gerasim. Gerasim is a happy man, he enjoys his life. He shows sympathy Ilyich's wife is incapable of showing. He is loving and kind, while Ilyich himself was not able to be. Ilyich realizes that this is a real life. He also realizes something else. This fear of death comes from his artificial life.
Ilyich lives a life free of meaning. He realizes that though and sympathizes with his wife and daughter. In that moment he shows compassion. In that moment he no longer fears death. Finally even as his death comes, it holds no dominion. Ivan Ilyich does not die.
This story is one of my favorites. Death is a fear I have, a fear many people have. It's in our lives, it's everywhere. This book analyzes it better than any other book on the subject. It points out that if we want to live, we should live. We shouldn't allow meaningless things to hold us hostage.
Life is about forgiveness. It's about love. It's about being alive. Sickness frightens me because I fear I wont have the chance to live. But on reading this I know I have and am living. I have so many chances still to take. It's all beautiful. It's so wonderful.
I want to talk about my favorite Tolstoy book, The Death of Ivan Ilyich. This story is less than 100 pages, about a high court judge named Ivan Ilyich. Ilyich is forty-five years old, wealthy, successful and his career is on the rise. He has a wife, a daughter, a son, a nice apartment, a series of servants and anything that a man could buy. Then he slips while hanging some curtains, injuring himself and leading to his death.
Ilyich at first notices a pain in his side, then a strange taste in his mouth. Doctors can't help him and his wife is more concerned with him getting back to work. Before long it's apparent he is dying. Soon Ilyich is laid up, he can't move due to intense pain and the only people who care are his son and servant.
During this long period, Ilyich reflects on death. He first searches for a way to avoid death. He can't find one, doctors and miracle cures don't help. He tries to find meaning in his death, except their is no meaning. He died from hanging curtains for God sake. Yet at the end, he quits being afraid. Why?
Ilyich reflects on his life, his wife's life. They are obsessed with the accumulation of things. They don't care for each other except in regard to how they can live a more comfortable life. This isn't a life though. It's an artificial nightmare existence. Ivan Ilyich isn't a man. He's a collection of stuff and titles.
True life is shown through his servant Gerasim. Gerasim is a happy man, he enjoys his life. He shows sympathy Ilyich's wife is incapable of showing. He is loving and kind, while Ilyich himself was not able to be. Ilyich realizes that this is a real life. He also realizes something else. This fear of death comes from his artificial life.
Ilyich lives a life free of meaning. He realizes that though and sympathizes with his wife and daughter. In that moment he shows compassion. In that moment he no longer fears death. Finally even as his death comes, it holds no dominion. Ivan Ilyich does not die.
This story is one of my favorites. Death is a fear I have, a fear many people have. It's in our lives, it's everywhere. This book analyzes it better than any other book on the subject. It points out that if we want to live, we should live. We shouldn't allow meaningless things to hold us hostage.
Life is about forgiveness. It's about love. It's about being alive. Sickness frightens me because I fear I wont have the chance to live. But on reading this I know I have and am living. I have so many chances still to take. It's all beautiful. It's so wonderful.
But I prefer Ivan Ilyich's way. It allows the world to mean something. Even if I wish it would forget me, sometimes, I still wish I could leave something behind that matters.