Ivan Ilyich's Character Development in Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich

In the "Death of Ivan Ilyich" there are three major character developments that show how Ivan matures throughout the story: firstly Ivan begins to care about the well-being of others that surround him, secondly he becomes obsessed with death, and thirdly he has a strong desire to see that his life is not wasted. The abundance of these three observational points can be found easily in Tolstoy's novella. Ivan being the main character has the entire story focused on him. Tolstoy gives us a vivid sketch of his life from childhood to his death bed filled with meticulous details. Tolstoy shows us how Ivan was "le phénix de la famille" which is a French phrase for "the pride of the family". It seems that Ivan had a good childhood, he had all of the elements and ingredients to live a rich, fulfilling life yet somehow when he looks back on it all he realizes that he wasted his life. Tolstoy describes him in his younger years as "an intelligent, polished, lively, and agreeable man" but states that his life was "terrible". "Ivan is a cliché, a human cipher dutifully plodding through a miasma of works and days." (Carter 15) So really there are two major character progressions that Ivan goes through; the first is his progression from an innocent young man with a promising future ahead of him to a cynical bureaucrat that only cared about his own comfort and well being. The second, which is the focus of this paper, is the progression from Ivan being a selfish, ignorant husband and father to realizing that he needs to change his life in order for it have significance.

One major change that can be seen in Ivan during his conversion is that he begins to start caring about others welfare more than his own. This is shown in the story in regards Gerasim and Ivan's family. Ivan's compassion for Gerasim is odd to most people in a sense that they don't see how the way Ivan treats Gerasim is of love. That might be true before Ivan begins his decline in his health, but after Ivan realizes what is most important in life due to his condition he starts to care about others to the best he can. Gerasim used to be just a servant boy of the Ilyich household but when Ivan fell ill Gerasim took on the role as Ivan's personal care-taker. "Gerasim's modeling of caring and compassion set the stage for Ilyich to break free from his fears, face death, and ultimately face himself." (Taylor 304) In return Ivan began building a relationship with Gerasim whereas before Ivan was distant to Gerasim. In regards to Ivan's wife and family Ivan had compassion on them because he realized they were making the same mistakes he had made in life. Once Ivan has realized he has had a lead a bad life and that he is going to die soon he starts caring about others and trying to do what is right. (Kamm 219) Tolstoy tells us that Ivan felt sorry for Praskovya and his son. Tolstoy also adds that Ivan thought "it would be better for them when I die". At the end of the story Ivan finally tries to change his life and do what is right.

The second change to be seen in Ivan is his fascination with a subject he was previously ignorant towards-death. During this time Ivan realizes he has failed to grasp the universality of death, assumed people with special characteristics couldn't die, and had dreams and visions of death. Once Ivan started to lose his health he became aware of the fact that he was indeed mortal. After living a life of luxury and comfort Ivan had no need to think of death. He was the prized son of a rich Russian official and he held a high social status from birth. Ivan is quite oblivious to the fact that all people will one day die; he can't grasp his own mortality because he is so immersed in his own life that he doesn't have time to think about death. Ivan also thought that people who had certain personality traits couldn't die. He came to this conclusion while studying Kiesewetter's syllogism which states: "Caius is a man, men are mortal, therefore Caius is mortal". Ivan thought he didn't apply to this logic because he had a personality and Caius, being an abstract figure, didn't have one. The flaw in his reasoning of course is that having personality does not make you a human. It is simply your existence in this world that makes you human therefore you are subject to the same reality of death as everyone else. During this fascination period with death Ivan had many dreams about dying. Tolstoy mentions the "black hole" that Ivan is terrified of. This black hole is what Ivan envisions the process of dying to be like. Tolstoy comments on Ivan's understanding of death when he says "but not only was he not accustomed to the thought, he simply did not and could not grasp it".

The last major character development Ivan undergoes can be seen in his desire to not waste what little of his life he has left. Up until Ivan starts losing his health "Tolstoy, with the use of deceptively simple language, portrays Ivan Ilyich as a man without any central purpose". (Goldberg & Crespo 87) In order to find out if his life was with significance Ivan put his life on trial. Being a judge this should be an easy task for Ivan to conclude if he had lived his life well. Unfortunately the opposite is the case; Ivan goes through one trial and then has to make an appeal to himself so he can put his life on trial once more. Ivan comes to the fact that he has so far wasted his life and he wants to make amends for what he has done by doing what is right from this point onward. Tolstoy said that Ivan asked himself "what is the right thing?" Although his actions and motives aren't completely righteous, Ivan is at least making attempt to change to his life. Ivan comprehends that he needs to start loving his family and others close to him instead of living selfishly. Sadly being bed-ridden with very little life in him there is not much he can do for the people around him. Ivan's great success though is that he finally experiences what it is like to have compassion on someone and love them as he should. Tolstoy tells us of this event in Ivan's life when he says "Then he felt that someone was kissing his hand. He opened his eyes, looked at his son, and felt sorry for him. His wife came up to him and he glanced at her. She was gazing at him open-mouthed, with undried tears on her nose and cheek and a despairing look on her face. He felt sorry for her too." This event, shortly before Ivan's death, is a pinnacle point in the story that shows that Ivan is indeed a dynamic character and has changed from the beginning of the story to the end of it.

The three developments Ivan's character goes through are key to understanding his growth as a person. The first change, which is actually quite drastic, is Ivan's caring for other people close to him. The second change is Ivan's fascination and understanding of death. He used to believe it didn't apply to him but now he believes in the universal truth that all men die. The third change is when Ivan tries to change the life he has lead by not wasting anymore of it being selfishly indulged in him. All of these changes came to be through Ivan injuring himself and consequently falling fatally ill. Had it not been for that unfortunate event Ivan would have continued to squander his life on his own desires. Even though Ivan's story is tragic it has good message to all who read it. The story is call to not waste your life, because death can overtake you at anytime. Sadly Ivan realized he had missed out on what life is all about shortly before he died. His change of heart and revelation on his deathbed did make him a new person though, because he was finally liberated from the plague of self-love that took control over his life. He was finally free to die in peace instead of in anguish and fear.

Works Cited

Carter, Steven. "Tolstoy's 'The Death of Ivan Ilyich.'" The Explicator 26.1 (Fall 2003):

15. LRC 12 Sept. 2005 .

Danaher, David S. "A Cognitive Approach to Metaphor in Prose: Truth and Falsehood in

Leo Tolstoy's 'The Death of Ivan Il'ich.'" 439-466. Poetics Today 24.3 (2003)

Goldberg, Carl, and Virginia Crespo. "Suffering and Personal Agency." International

Journal of Psychotherapy. 8.2 (2003):

Hamalian, Leo Eleven Modern Short Novels. New York: Putnam, 1970.

Jahn, Gary R. "The Death of Ivan Ilich": an Interpretation. New York: Twayne

Publishers, 1993.

Kamm, F.M. "Rescuing Ivan Ilych: How We Live and How We Die" Ethics 113.2 (Jan

2003.): 202-234.

Maude, Aylmer. The Life of Tolstoy. London: Oxford University Press, H. Milford,

1930.

Shepherd, David "Conversion, Reversion, and Subversion in Tolstoi's 'The Death of Ivan

Il'ich'." Slavonic & East European Review. 71.3 (July 1993). EBSCO Host 15

September 2005. .

Taylor, Susan L. "The Gerasim Model of Caregiving: Reflections on Tolstoy's Novella

`The Death of Ivan Ilyich'." Death Studies 27.3 (May 1997): 299-304. EBSCO

Host 12 Sept. 2005 .

Tolstoy, Leo. 'The Death of Ivan Ilyitch' and Other stories. New York: Scribner's, 1900.

Williams, Michael V. "Tolstoy's 'The Death of Iváan Ilých': After the Fall." Studies in

Short Fiction 21.3 (Summer 1984): 229-234.

Wilson, Robert N. "The Case of Ivan Ilyitch." Ageing & Society. 15.1 (March 1995):

EBSCO Host 15 September 2005. .