How does ivan ilych die

For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. The story begins in the St. Petersburg law courts, where three friends and colleagues of a man named Ivan Ilych learn from the newspaper that Ivan has died. No one seems deeply affected by this, but one of them, Peter Ivanovich, goes to the wake at Ivan's house that night out of a sense of obligation.

There Peter finds his friend Schwartz, who's eager to leave the dreary service and spend the evening doing something more fun: playing bridge. Peter Ivanovich also has a chat with Praskovya Fedorovna, Ivan's widow, who puts on a spectacular but rather unconvincing display of tears and then promptly asks Peter how she can milk Ivan's death for all the pension money it's worth.

As for Peter himself, the death of somebody so similar to him makes him very nervous. After a valiant effort not to let Ivan's funeral service affect him in the slightest, he leaves in a hurry to get to the bridge game. Now that the "prologue" is finished, the narrator gets down to the business of telling us Ivan's story. Ivan, who died at only forty-five, had a life that was "most simple and ordinary and therefore most terrible" 2.

The narrator then hurries us through Ivan's childhood and school days. Young Ivan is a likable fellow: smart, good-humored, well balanced, sociable, and witty. He has a few scandalous debauches, but not too many. After attending law school he slowly works his way up the career ladder as a legal official, moving from province to province every few years or so. In one of his provincial postings he meets a girl named Praskovya Fedorovna, whom he marries, though he doesn't really love her.

Ivan is fairly successful at work enjoying the sense of power that legal work gives him , and popular socially. Initially his marriage is pleasant too, but when Praskovya Fedorovna becomes moody and difficult during her first pregnancy, Ivan can't deal with it. As a result he retreats into his work and his bridge games, which seem to be his real passion in life. His marriage never recovers, but Ivan doesn't really care about that.

Despite his marriage, Ivan finds life to be quite pleasant. At least Praskovya Fedorovna provides him with a daughter Lisa and young son Vasya. At around age 40, Ivan is upset terribly when's he's passed up for an expected promotion.

It's the worst thing that has ever happened to him. Awaking from his dream, Ivan sends Gerasim away, and for the first time he hears the inner voice of his soul speaking to him. Twelve more days pass, and Ivan is no longer able to leave the sofa. He lies pondering death and questioning the rationale behind his suffering. As he examines his life, Ivan realizes that the further back he looks, the more joy there is. He finds that just as the pain grew worse and worse, so too did his life.

He knows that an explanation for the suffering would be possible if he had not lived rightly, but recalling the propriety of his life, he resigns himself to the senselessness of death. Then, one night while looking at Gerasim's face, Ivan begins to doubt whether he has lived his life correctly. He imagines the black sack again, and the immense agony he experiences stems partly from his being thrust into the sack, and partly from not being able to get right into it. The conviction that his life was a good one prevents him from entering the sack, but for some reason he is unwilling to relinquish that belief.

Suddenly, "some force" strikes Ivan in the chest and side. It pushes him through the sack and into the presence of a bright light. At that very moment his hand falls on his sons head and he feels sorry for him. His wife approaches his bed, her face wet with tears, and he feels sorry for her too.

He realizes that his official life and his family and social relations were all artificial. And he experiences a sense of extreme joy. In the middle of a sigh, Ivan stretches out and dies. Ace your assignments with our guide to The Death of Ivan Ilych! SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Themes Motifs. Important Quotes Explained. Mini Essays Suggested Essay Topics. Summary Full Book Summary. Popular pages: The Death of Ivan Ilych. Yet in the midst of the unpleasantness, Ivan receives his first comfort.

Gerasim, the servant from Chapter I, is assigned the task of helping Ivan with his excretions. Gerasim is a "clean, fresh peasant lad, grown stout on town food and always cheerful and bright. Unlike the health and vitality of others, Gerasim's health and vitality do not offend Ivan.

One day, as Gerasim is helping Ivan to the sofa, Ivan finds that his pain is much relieved while Gerasim is holding his feet. After that, Ivan frequently asks Gerasim to hold his legs on his shoulders, finding that that position is best of all. Gerasim serves Ivan "easily, willingly, simply, and with a good nature.

More than the physical pain, what begins to torment Ivan most of all is the awful deception of those around him. They use the pretense that he is not dying but is simply ill. As Ivan sees the act of his dying reduced to an unpleasant and indecorous incident, he is bothered by the fact that no one seems to understand his position.

Ivan longs to be pitied as a sick child is pitied, to be petted and comforted. But not his wife, nor his daughter, nor his friends can offer Ivan that consolation.

Only Gerasim's attitude toward Ivan seems to provide Ivan with what he needs. At times Gerasim supports Ivan's legs all night. Gerasim alone does not lie about the nature of Ivan's situation. With the words, "We shall all of us die, so why should I grudge a little trouble," Gerasim makes clear to Ivan that he does not consider his work a burden, but a service to a dying man.