“Tolstoy shows us “a man. . . who had not taken the trouble to grow up, morally speaking, while he was passing through [life], and. . .then [shows] how salvation could overtake a slowing pulse rate, bringing maturity at the last.”
-Ronald Blythe in the Introduction of Leo Tolstoy’s “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”
In the end, Ivan Ilyich finds that the only time in his life in which he truly lived and was happy was during his childhood. He found that the further he went along in life the further he went down the wrong path. Ilyich also considers that he has lived his entire life “correctly” in the eyes of his peers. These observations are certainly not conflicting. The reason his childhood was the only time in which he could live freely and happily was not that it was a particularly idyllic childhood but rather that it was the only time that he lived free of social expectations and concerns. Once he became aware of his social duties, he submitted himself to them without hesitation and believed that his life was improving simultaneously with his reputation. Because he never thought for himself past his childhood, he never grew up morally, as Ronald Blythe says in the above quote, and thus could not have a beneficial impact on his community. His entire life, Ilyich believed that by perfectly living up to his expectations, he was living a blameless and productive life, but he only discovered how wrong he was as he was dying.
This final realization that his life was not as complete as he once believed it to be is what allows him to mature and to accept the inevitable, his fast-approaching demise. Ilyich realizes that his life has been missing true connections with the people around him because he has always been solely concerned with what is right and beneficial for him. He finds closure when he considers the feelings of his wife and son and acts on his concern for them. He tells them to go, and he expresses his sorrow for them. This final act of apologizing for the suffering he has caused them allows him to feel fulfilled in his last moments of life (370).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
'Rianna--you said, "Once he became aware of his social duties, he submitted himself to them without hesitation and believed that his life was improving simultaneously with his reputation. Because he never thought for himself past his childhood, he never grew up morally." Well said. You do a nice job summing up a key idea in the story in a clear and concise way.
Post a Comment