La Mort d'Ivan Ilitch: La Mort d'un juge

Par León Tolstói

La Mort d'Ivan Ilitch est une nouvelle de Léon Tolstoï publiée en 1886. Quiconque lit La Mort d'Ivan Ilitch y verra un inattendu mélange littéraire qui allie la description de frivolités comme de petites bassesses, et peint l'ordinaire commun et étriqué d'un esprit qui va se découvrir à son étonnement égoïste et petit (Ivan Ilitch), victime à 45 ans d'une maladie extrême dans la souffrance qui lui ouvrira les yeux. Au début de cette nouvelle, le héros - magistrat - est satisfait de sa vie. À mesure toutefois que se développe en lui une douleur qui ne veut pas disparaître et qu'il comprend que sa mort approche, il prend conscience aussi que son entourage ne le voit pas sous un jour aussi avantageux qu'il ne l'imaginait ; d'abord révolté, il se voit à mesure de ses réflexions obligé de constater que cette image peu flatteuse qu'on a de lui est fondée

• Langue: Français
• Éditeur: e-artnow
• Date de sortie: 25 avr. 2019
• ISBN: 9788027302253

León Tolstói

<p><b>Lev Nikoláievich Tolstoi</b> nació en 1828, en Yásnaia Poliana, en la región de Tula, de una familia aristócrata. En 1844 empezó Derecho y Lenguas Orientales en la universidad de Kazán, pero dejó los estudios y llevó una vida algo disipada en Moscú y San Petersburgo.</p><p> En 1851 se enroló con su hermano mayor en un regimiento de artillería en el Cáucaso. En 1852 publicó <i>Infancia</i>, el primero de los textos autobiográficos que, seguido de <i>Adolescencia</i> (1854) y <i>Juventud</i> (1857), le hicieron famoso, así como sus recuerdos de la guerra de Crimea, de corte realista y antibelicista, <i>Relatos de Sevastópol</i> (1855-1856). La fama, sin embargo, le disgustó y, después de un viaje por Europa en 1857, decidió instalarse en Yásnaia Poliana, donde fundó una escuela para hijos de campesinos. El éxito de su monumental novela <i>Guerra y paz</i> (1865-1869) y de <i>Anna Karénina</i> (1873-1878; ALBA CLÁSICA MAIOR, núm. XLVII, y ALBA MINUS, núm. 31), dos hitos de la literatura universal, no alivió una profunda crisis espiritual, de la que dio cuenta en <i>Mi confesión</i> (1878-1882), donde prácticamente abjuró del arte literario y propugnó un modo de vida basado en el Evangelio, la castidad, el trabajo manual y la renuncia a la violencia. A partir de entonces el grueso de su obra lo compondrían fábulas y cuentos de orientación popular, tratados morales y ensayos como <i>Qué es el arte</i> (1898) y algunas obras de teatro como <i>El poder de las tinieblas</i> (1886) y <i>El cadáver viviente</i> (1900); su única novela de esa época fue <i>Resurrección</i> (1899), escrita para recaudar fondos para la secta pacifista de los dujobori (guerreros del alma).</p><p> Una extensa colección de sus <i>Relatos</i> ha sido publicada en esta misma colección (ALBA CLÁSICA MAIOR, núm. XXXIII). En 1901 fue excomulgado por la Iglesia Ortodoxa. Murió en 1910, rumbo a un monasterio, en la estación de tren de Astápovo.</p>

Aperçu du livre

Léon Tolstoï

La Mort d’Ivan Ilitch

La Mort d’un juge

e-artnow, 2019

Contact: [e-mail]

ISBN  978-80-273-0225-3

Table des matières

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I

Table des matières

Au Palais de Justice, pendant la suspension de l’audience consacrée à l’affaire Melvinsky, les juges et le procureur s’étaient réunis dans le cabinet d’Ivan Égorovitch Schebek, et la conversation vint à tomber sur la fameuse affaire Krassovsky. Fédor Vassilievitch s’animait en soutenant l’incompétence; Ivan Égorovitch soutenait l’opinion contraire. Piotr Ivanovitch qui, depuis le commencement, n’avait pas pris part à la discussion, parcourait un journal qu’on venait d’apporter.

— Messieurs! Dit-il, Ivan Ilitch est mort.

— Pas possible!

— Voilà, lisez, dit-il à Fédor Vassilievitch en lui tendant le numéro du journal tout fraîchement sorti de l’imprimerie.

Il lut l’avis suivant encadré de noir:

«Prascovie Fédorovna Golovine a la douleur d’annoncer à ses parents et amis la mort de son époux bien-aimé Ivan Ilitch Golovine, conseiller à la Cour d’appel, décédé le 4 février 1882. La levée du corps aura lieu vendredi, à une heure de l’après-midi.»

Ivan Ilitch était le collègue des messieurs présents; et tous l’aimaient. Il était malade depuis plusieurs semaines déjà, et l’on disait sa maladie incurable; toutefois sa place lui était restée, mais on savait qu’à sa mort, Alexiev le remplacerait et que la place de ce dernier serait donnée à Vinnikov ou à Schtabel. Aussi, en apprenant la mort d’Ivan Ilitch, tous ceux qui étaient réunis là se demandèrent d’abord quelle influence aurait cette mort sur les permutations ou les nominations d’eux-mêmes et de leurs amis.

«Je suis à peu près certain d’avoir la place de Schtabel ou celle de Vinnikov», pensait Fédor Vassilievitch, «il y a longtemps qu’on me l’a promise, et cette promotion augmentera mon traitement de 800 roubles, sans compter les indemnités de bureau.»

«C’est le moment de faire nommer chez nous mon beau-frère de Kalouga», pensait Piotr Ivanovitch. «Ma femme en sera contente et ne pourra plus dire que je ne fais jamais rien pour les siens.»

— J’étais sûr qu’il ne s’en relèverait pas, – dit à haute voix Piotr Ivanovitch. – C’est bien dommage.

— Mais quelle était sa maladie, au juste?

— Les médecins n’ont jamais su la définir, c’est-à-dire qu’ils ont bien émis leur opinion, mais chacun d’eux avait la sienne. Quand je l’ai vu pour la dernière fois, je croyais qu’il pourrait s’en tirer.

— Et moi qui ne suis pas allé le voir depuis les fêtes. J’en avais toujours l’intention.

— Avait-il de la fortune?

— Je crois que sa femme avait quelque chose, mais très peu.

— Oui, il va falloir y aller. Ils demeurent si loin!

— C’est-à-dire loin de chez vous… De chez vous tout est loin.

— Il ne peut pas me pardonner de demeurer de l’autre côté de la rivière, dit Piotr Ivanovitch en regardant Schebek avec un sourire. Et il se mit à parler de l’éloignement de toutes choses dans les grandes villes. Ils retournèrent à l’audience.

Outre les réflexions que suggérait à chacun cette mort et les changements possibles de service qui allaient en résulter, le fait même de la mort d’un excellent camarade éveillait en eux, comme il arrive toujours, un sentiment de joie. Chacun pensait: Il est mort, et moi pas! Quant aux intimes, ceux qu’on appelle des amis, ils pensaient involontairement qu’ils auraient à s’acquitter d’un ennuyeux devoir de convenance: aller d’abord au service funéraire, ensuite faire une visite de condoléance à la veuve.

Fédor Vassilievitch et Piotr Ivanovitch étaient les amis les plus intimes d’Ivan Ilitch.

Piotr Ivanovitch avait été son camarade à l’École de droit et se considérait comme son obligé.

Après avoir annoncé à sa femme, pendant le dîner, la nouvelle de la mort d’Ivan Ilitch et lui avoir communiqué ses considérations sur les probabilités de la nomination de son beau-frère dans leur district, Piotr Ivanovitch, sans se reposer, endossa son habit et se rendit au domicile d’Ivan Ilitch.

Une voiture de maître et deux voitures de place stationnaient près du perron. Dans le vestibule, près du porte-manteau, on avait adossé au mur le couvercle en brocart du cercueil, garni de glands et de franges d’argent passés au blanc d’Espagne. Deux dames en noir se débarrassaient de leurs pelisses. L’une d’elles était la sœur d’Ivan Ilitch, qu’il connaissait; l’autre lui était inconnue. Un collègue de Piotr Ivanovitch, Schwartz, descendait. Ayant aperçu, du haut de l’escalier, le nouveau visiteur, il s’arrêta et cligna de l’œil, comme s’il voulait dire: «Ivan Ilitch n’a pas été malin; ce n’est pas comme nous autres!»

La figure de Schwartz, avec ses favoris à l’anglaise, et sa maigre personne, en habit, conservaient toujours une grâce solennelle; et cette gravité, qui contrastait avec son caractère jovial, avait en l’occurrence quelque chose de particulièrement amusant. Ainsi pensa Piotr Ivanovitch.

Il laissa passer les dames devant lui et gravit lentement l’escalier derrière elles. Schwartz ne descendit pas et l’attendit en haut. Piotr Ivanovitch comprit pourquoi. Il voulait évidemment s’entendre avec lui pour la partie de cartes du soir. Les dames entrèrent chez la veuve. Schwartz, les lèvres sévèrement pincées, mais le regard enjoué, indiqua d’un mouvement de sourcils, à droite, la chambre du défunt.

Piotr Ivanovitch entra, ne sachant trop, comme il arrive toujours en pareil cas, ce qu’il devait faire. Cependant il était sûr d’une chose, c’est qu’en pareil cas un signe de croix ne fait jamais mal. Mais devait-il saluer ou non, il n’en était pas certain. Il choisit donc un moyen intermédiaire: il entra dans la chambre mortuaire, fit le signe de la croix, et s’inclina légèrement comme s’il saluait. Autant que le lui permirent les mouvements de sa tête et de ses mains, il examina en même temps la pièce. Deux jeunes gens, dont un collégien, probablement les neveux du mort, sortaient de la chambre en faisant le signe de la croix. Une vieille femme se tenait debout, immobile. Une dame, les sourcils étrangement soulevés, lui disait quelque chose à voix basse. Le chantre, vêtu d’une redingote, l’air résolu et diligent, lisait à haute voix, d’un ton qui ne souffrait pas d’objection. Le

Avis sur La Mort d'Ivan Ilitch

[ionas_7 · Évaluation : 5 sur 5 étoiles]

There were many good points in Tolstoy's little story, such as the inadequacy of doctors, our focus on becoming persons of power and importance, and our marrying not for love but material reasons.IIvan Ilyich suffered a lot of pain before he died; but the story was not entitled "the illness" or "the pain" of Ivan Ilyich, but "the death of Ivan Ilyich".I found it significant that some time before his death Ivan gained the insight that he had not lived his life correctly; he had been focused on irrelevancies and not the real values of life. He had had promptings from his soul, or God, if you will, about things in his life he should have changed, but these he ignored.He realized now that only his little son whom he had always pitied, loved him. And his servant Gerasim also had compassion for him, but not his wife or others in the family.Ivan had a little medal on his watch chain inscribed "Respice finem" (look to the end). And it is the actual "death" that is significant.Like most people, Ivan had been afraid of death, but as soon as he accepted the pain, he could not find the fear."There was no more fear because there was no more death.""Instead of death there was light, "What joy!" says Ivan.With this story Tolstoy is giving us a crucial message - there is no death, when our body dies, we go into the light.

[sirroger · Évaluation : 4 sur 5 étoiles]

Ivan Ilyich Golovin is a lawyer and is used to exercising his authority in all technical, proprietary matters of the law when hearing witnesses or defendants in court. His marriage is no longer a happy one, and he avoids familial situations whenever they interfere with his interests. One day, while remodeling his new St. Petersburg apartment before the arrival of his family, he falls from a ladder and sustains a bruise on his side from a window handle. The pain, instead of going away, steadily worsens, and Ivan Ilyich's health deteriorates. The doctors can bring no useful insight, and all around him either insist he'll soon be better or think to themselves that at least it isn't them. Ivan Ilyich, left alone in his repulsive sickness, comes to a realization of the falseness of his life and the lives of everyone he knows. He tries to come to terms with Death and to be prepared when it comes. This book (novella) (story) is not much more than a hundred pages, and is a compelling meditation on death. As we would expect from Tolstoy, however, it is also a criticism of the falseness of society at the time, who refuse to recognize death, but keep on leading their empty lives. In this way it serves as a gentle cautionary tale, provoking the reader to reflect on the state of his own life, to ask himself by what principles he lives, and would he be ready if called to meet Death himself.

[pingdjip · Évaluation : 3 sur 5 étoiles]

Dit verhaal biedt variaties op twee dingen: eerst, hoe Ivan vóór zijn ziekte is, namelijk statusgericht en egoïstisch, en vervolgens hoe hij tijdens zijn ziekte is, namelijk helemaal gemangeld door pijn en wanhoop. De nog gezonde Ivan wil prettig en licht leven, geen aanstoot geven en soepel meedraaien in de sociale wereld. Als zijn huwelijk slecht uitpakt, want zijn vrouw is erg jaloers, sluit hij zich voor haar af en richt zich op zijn werk. Daar geniet hij stiekem, terwijl hij zich welwillend en vriendelijk voordoet, van de macht die hij uitoefent. Echte vrienden heeft hij niet. Als hij stijgt op de sociale ladder, dan stoot hij minder hooggeplaatste kennissen af en zoekt het, ook in zijn vrije tijd, hogerop. Het is jammer dat deze fase van Ivans leven aan het slot min of meer wordt bestempeld als immoreel. Iwan zelf gaat, als hij bijna overlijdt, spijt krijgen van zijn oppervlakkige en zelfzuchtige leven. De manier waarop de onpersoonlijke verteller dit weergeeft suggereert instemming. Waarschijnlijk is deze normatieve invalshoek ook Tolstoj’s eigen visie. Maar de manier waarop hij het uitdrukt is terughoudend, zodat de niet in moraal geïnteresseerde lezer het ook zuiver beschrijvend kan opvatten. En die beschrijvingen tintelen van geloofwaardigheid en laten een prachtige mix zien van sociaal inzicht en emotionele zeggingskracht.De zieke Iwan trekt zich terug in zijn eigen ellende, hij wordt de ultieme navelstaarder. Steeds lezen we welke wending zijn grote geestelijke lijden nu weer neemt en welk aspectje dan weer de overhand krijgt. Heel mooi vond ik de interactie met Gerasim, het eenvoudige knechtje dat Ivan nog een tijdlang, als enige, weet te kalmeren. Ook mooi, hoe Ivans ellende een climax bereikt wanneer hij een enorme schreeuw uitstoot die drie dagen aanhoudt en bij iedereen door merg en been gaat. Naar het einde toe wordt het verhaal claustrofobisch, omdat het exclusief Ivans belevingswereld volgt. In die belevingswereld spelen waarnemingen en interacties nauwelijks meer een rol. Ivan vormt zich geen beeld meer van de wereld om hem heen. De jeugdherinneringen die door zijn hoofd gaan kwamen wat mij betreft niet echt tot leven. Het geheel kreeg daardoor iets reductionistisch in mijn ogen, alsof er maar een klein deel van de menselijke ervaring werd weergegeven. Daarom heeft dit verhaal me minder geraakt en geënthousiasmeerd dan de twee grote romans.

[misswoodhouse1816 · Évaluation : 4 sur 5 étoiles]

This classic novella was chosen by my university as their pick for The Big Read- a national reading event in North America sponsored by grants from the Nation Endowment for the Arts. Additionally, it was my first real essay into Russian literature. The novella begins, aptly, with the death of Ivan Ilyich, a 45 year old judge in St. Petersburg. His coworkers receive the news, and though they seem to be saddened by the event they also are very concerned over who will get promoted to where in order to fill Ivan's vacancy. One close friend of Ivan's, Peter, drags himself reluctantly to the funeral, only to be grilled by the not-so-grieving widow over Ivan's pension. He finally escapes, and wanders off to play bridge and rid his mind of the death.After briefly covering his death, the story turns to Ivan's life, which it terms as most simple...and most horrifying. We learn that Ivan skimmed through most of his life in a fairly ordinary way: grow up, go to school, have father set up a career, sow some wild oats, find a girl, marry, raise a family, get promoted, buy a house, decorate the house. It is decorating the house in fact that starts the grim chain of events. In trying to show the drapier how to hang curtains, Ivan slips off the ladder and bumps his side against a knob. Seemingly no real harm is done, just a small bruise.Yet that bruise leads him to his death. First he can't taste and enjoy food, then he can't focus on playing cards. Doctor after doctor try various treatments, but all for naught. He steadily declines, becoming more and more angry, frightened, and unreasonable. As the end draws near, he begins screaming- three days and nights he screams.Finally, he has two hours left to live. He stops screaming, stops fighting, and faces his death. it is in this moment that he finally finds peace- perhaps for the first time in his life. He thinks back and sees that his life was not all that it could or should have been, but he knows he can rectify that. Looking at those around him, he sees the pain that his illness is causing them. As he sees this, he realizes that his pain is hard to feel, that it is no longer dominating his mind and soul. He can no longer see death, and instead Ivan sees the joy and light ahead of him- and so he dies.I really enjoyed the story. Tolstoy masterfully begins by putting you in no doubt of the end so the focus is completely on the journey to death. It is undeniably depressing, but the end has a beauty and serenity to it that justifies the whole novella.

[fuzzy_patters · Évaluation : 5 sur 5 étoiles]

A Russian judge finds the meaning of life through death and struggles with the reality of his own mortality. I was quite taken aback by the relevance of this work even today. I found myself on numerous occasions pondering whether I have lived my own life the right way and what I can do to live better in the future.

[johncouke · Évaluation : 5 sur 5 étoiles]

Powerful, powerful book about the range of emotions the main character goes through as he learns that his time on earth is dwindling quickly.

[pocketmermaid · Évaluation : 3 sur 5 étoiles]

I read this for my World Lit II class. Actually, I read it twice. I read two different translations, because I wasn't satisfied with the one that was in my text book. I found another, and I liked it a lot better. Translation does make a difference.Poor Ivan Ilyich. I wasn't too crazy about this, but I understand its importance in literature. So many writers that came later have been influenced by this little novel! It's amazing how Tolstoy was able to capture all these emotions of human suffering and dying. I gave it three stars because it wasn't really all that life-changing or inspirational to me personally, but I'm glad to have read it. Twice, even!

[mahallett · Évaluation : 5 sur 5 étoiles]

a good story of a dying man. good introduction

[trilliams · Évaluation : 5 sur 5 étoiles]

Two spoilers: Ivan dies, and this book is great.

[martinbodek · Évaluation : 3 sur 5 étoiles]

I spotted this on a friend's shelf, borrowed it, and read it in an afternoon. I found it to be an interesting - and arrestingly short - contemplation of the end of life and life's worth/value. The introduction was extremely helpful in understanding the context of Tolstoy's complete antithesis regard for life in comparison with his character. I'm not exactly sure why this stands out for historians as a unique book of its kind, as the introduction reveals and reminds that other such literature exists, perhaps better. A good first experience with the author nonetheless.

[engpunk77 · Évaluation : 5 sur 5 étoiles]

This was one of my favorite stories of all time in 1999. I read it over and over again, thinking it contained and could reveal all the wisdom in the world.

[ohernaes · Évaluation : 4 sur 5 étoiles]

Think over whether you live the life that you want to live or simply do the "correct" things unquestionably.

[sanctispiritus · Évaluation : 4 sur 5 étoiles]

An excellent, soulful book in the vein of The Trial, and Crime and Punishment. Vladimir Nabokov sums my views of this Novella quite well.In his lectures on Russian Literature Russian born Novelist and critic Vladimir Nabokov argues that, for Tolstoy, a sinful life is (such as Ivan's was), moral death. Therefore death, the return of the soul to God is, for Tolstoy, moral life . To quote Nabokov: "The Tolstoyan formula is: Ivan lived a bad life and since the bad life is nothing but the death of the soul, then Ivan lived a living death; and since beyond death is God's living light, then Ivan died into a new life- Life with a capital L."(Nabokov, Vladimir Vladimirovich: Lectures On Russain Literature pg.237: Harcourt Edition)

[drfp_1 · Évaluation : 4 sur 5 étoiles]

Very well written novella by Tolstoy. I was worried after "Anna Karenina" Tolstoy might have lost his way as he became older. However this was much more like the Tolstoy I remember from "War and Peace". A very affecting study of one man's life and death.

[john257hopper · Évaluation : 5 sur 5 étoiles]

The thoughts and feelings of a man towards his family and those around him as he gets progressively more ill and is then dying from a wasting disease that sounds like cancer. The opening chapters are quite light-hearted with some ruefully amusing reflections on marriage and attitudes towards ones career, but then the mood becomes much darker and he ends being cynical about his family, seeing them as wishing his death to come sooner so they can be free of the burden of caring for him. A short story but one with a lot to say about the human condition and by no means necessarily tied to its Russian background.

[patronus11 · Évaluation : 4 sur 5 étoiles]

Word I wasn't expecting to read in this bleak masterpiece: pasties. (Hugh Alpin translator, UK's Hesperus Press)

[kimmr_2 · Évaluation : 4 sur 5 étoiles]

This is the story of the life and - as the title indicates - the death of an ordinary man. Ivan Ilych is not a particularly likeable character, nor are his wife and children, nor the colleagues who also appear in the narrative. And yet, the story of Ivan's death is powerful and moving, simply but exquisitely told. Ivan's anger, his fear, his resentment are all unflinchingly described.

I've spent the past few months acutely aware of mortality. A close friend died suddenly a few months ago. Two other women I know well have inoperable cancer. My mother is frail and elderly and every time I see her I know I may never see her alive again. That sense of being surrounded by death in life is something that all of us face as we age.

Talking about dying and death is not something we do much of in our society, even though it is something which occurs every moment of every day. Reading this book, as short as it is, brings the reader face to face with that perience. No matter how ordinary a person, no matter how ordinary their life, each death is unique - an extraordinary experience for the person concerned.

This is not easy reading, but it is something to read and remember.

[lukespapa · Évaluation : 5 sur 5 étoiles]

The minute we are born we are compelled to live. Ironically it is also the minute we begin the dying process. While some spend their lives obsessed with (the fear of) dying, others, like Tolstoy’s Ivan Ilyich have never given it a second thought. Death is an inconvenience that happens to others. But when Ivan falls ill at 45 and understands his time on earth is short he tries to reconcile his life’s choices and realize the absurdity and futility of it all. With his mortality looming, despondent and in agony, Ivan has an epiphany; as death finally announces itself to him, it then ceased to exist. Now that’s a simple but powerful concept worth contemplating. A masterpiece novella, this one is worth everybody’s time and consideration.

[thebookjunky · Évaluation : 5 sur 5 étoiles]

It is the epitome of a true classic. It is timeless. It is as immediately relevant now as it was when it was published 130 years ago.
Here is the unexamined Life, with its strivings, hypocrisies, bargains, illusions upon illusions, and its screens stopping thoughts of Death.
Then Life is introduced to Death. The screens are relentlessly stripped away, revealing…nothing? “There is no explanation! Agony, death… .What for?”
This is why I read.

[pilgrimjess · Évaluation : 4 sur 5 étoiles]

“Ivan Ilych's life had been most simple and most ordinary and therefore most terrible.” The book opens at the end of the story when a group of judges are informed that Ivan Ilyich has died. These men rather than mourn his passing instead begin to think of the promotions and transfers that the death will mean. That evening, one of the number travels to Ivan's house to attend his funeral. But whilst there becomes bothered by an expression of disapproval and warning on Ivan's face. The story then shifts more than thirty years into the past and picks up with a description of Ivan's life. As a teenager he attends a Law School where he takes on the habits and mannerisms of his contemporaries who are generally of those with high social standing. Ivan becomes a magistrate and marries Praskovya. Everything seems to be going smoothly until Praskovya becomes pregnant. Suddenly Praskovya's behaviour changes and they begin to argue a lot but rather than face it Ivan buries himself in his work and distances himself from his family. Time passes and Ivan moves up in the ranks and is eventually awarded a higher paying position in St Petersburg where he moves his family to. Whilst decorating the home he bangs his side against the window frame. The injury does not seem serious, but sometime late Ivan begins to experience some discomfort in his left side and an unusual taste in his mouth. The discomfort gradually increases and Ivan decides to see several doctors . However, the doctors all disagree on the nature of the illness and Ivan's physical condition degenerates rapidly. One night while lying alone in the dark, he is visited by his first thoughts of mortality, and they terrify him. He realizes that his illness is not a question of health or disease, but of life or death. Ivan knows that he is dying, but he is unable to grasp the full implications of his mortality. As his health fails Ivan starts examine his life and begins to question whether or nor it was a good one. This only a short novella and in many respects quite black in its outlook but is a very harsh look at how people choose to live their lives and whether or not our ambitions and ideals were real or merely artificial. Whether our official and personal lives can and should truly be kept separate.

[laphenix · Évaluation : 3 sur 5 étoiles]

I liked the concept, but quickly grew bored.

[nospi-2 · Évaluation : 5 sur 5 étoiles]

Absolute Masterpiece

Beyond my ability to use superlatives how incredible this short book is on delving into the relative importance of life, marriage, family, career, and death.

[amelish · Évaluation : 5 sur 5 étoiles]

Oh non-Gothic, gothic horror. Oh sweaty relief. (ew)

I wish I'd been a writing sort in high school--the books I read then were arguably more interesting than the ones I read now, brief Michael Crichton preoccupation excepted.

[bayardus-1 · Évaluation : 3 sur 5 étoiles]

Until the nature of his injury makes itself known Ivan Ilych ambles through life, succeeding in both his career and personal life (at least he keeps up the facade of success in those realms). Yet Ivan Ilych never exhibits any passion, nor does he examine the path he has taken and where it might lead.

When a foolish accident brings home his own mortality, however, Ivan Ilych is forced to consider all the things he had taken for granted before. His unhappy marriage, his career that he sometimes enjoyed but largely performed for the sake of a salary and social advancement, and his life in general where he never stood for or against anything, all provide grist for Ivan's tormented mind. The nature of life and the inevitability of death spur in Ivan thoughts about dying for the first time. Tolstoy gives us a dying man who is bitter that everyone else is continuing their lives as if "the world was going on as usual." Of course, to everyone except the dying man, it is. He gives us a man who always thought of himself as death's exception. Everyone has probably done something similar, at least at times, because that thought is so much easier to grasp compared to the idea that we are mortal and will be dead someday, our consciousness ending like a candle being snuffed. He gives us a man railing against the cruelty of God while simultaneously railing against God's absence. Finally Tolstoy lets Ivan Ilych begin to examine his own life, and as he does so he realizes that his moments of purest happiness were during childhood, and since then his life has been one big death-spiral, before giving Ivan a moment of forgiveness and what I interpret as divine absolution.

Tolstoy in this book tells what I imagine is a universal tale of a person trying to reconcile themselves with his or her own mortality. We probably have all had the thoughts that go through Ivan's head in our own head at some point in our lives- if anything Ivan Ilych thinks about hasn't occurred to you in at least a general sense before then you probably don't spend much time thinking- but Tolstoy presents these thoughts well. That being said, his writing did not spur any realization about life or death that I didn't have before I began the book. Maybe I contemplate my own mortality more than most people do? I think that, despite the lack of new insight, the book could have been great if the scenes of Iva Ilych's terror and suffering were portrayed with great prose that made the scenes depicted viscerally striking. I didn't find the prose to be particularly impressive, unfortunately, though that may be the fault of the Maude translation. I also thought the ending was a bit of a cop-out, at least if you interpret the ending as his soul receiving forgiveness, as it undercuts the fear of death and the ensuing nothingness that was such an integral part of the story up until that point. I hope Tolstoy really believed in such forgiveness, and didn't include it so as to give a more uplifting ending, because the story would have been better off without it.

If you've never really thought about death, it's worth reading a book that contemplates such a thing. There are plenty to choose from: Death Comes for the Archbishop, Gilead, The Tartar Steppe, or Hamlet just to name a few (death is hardly a rare theme). Still, The Death of Ivan Ilych stands out as perhaps the work most focused on death. Choose it if that sounds appealing to you.

[andrewblackman · Évaluation : 4 sur 5 étoiles]

A man dies slowly and in great agony. He ponders the meaning of life, and this increases his anguish: even worse than the physical pain of a slow, lingering death is the spiritual anguish of realising he has wasted his life.Tolstoy's main target here is dishonesty and hypocrisy. This is established from the opening scene, when Ivan Ilyich's death is announced, and the reaction of his colleagues is to think about how this will affect their promotion chances, while speaking the usual lines about it being a "sad business" and so on. Even his widow, Praskovya Fiodorovna, is more concerned about herself than her dead husband: after telling a mourner about his three days and nights of incessant screaming, she says "Oh, what I have gone through!" Then she tries to find out how she can increase the government pension money due to her from her husband's death.Then Tolstoy takes us on a quick tour back through Ivan Ilyich's life, showing us that he also participated fully in this dishonesty, concerning himself with appearances and advancement. In every decision, even marriage, he is heavily influenced by what other people will think. With each promotion in his career as a judge, he attains more power and money, but it's never enough. At each stage he simply spends more money imitating people higher in the social scale than he is, and wanting to attain that next level. It's not coincidental that he sustains his fatal injury while climbing a ladder to show a workman exactly how he wants a new curtain to be hung. The novel is saturated with vanity, pettiness and materialism, and they cause Ivan Ilyich's spiritual and physical death.Long before Kubler-Ross, Tolstoy hit on the stages of grief in the character Ivan Ilyich. He goes through denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, although not always in that order. He often swings violently between the different emotions, depending on his own state of mind and on outside events like a doctor getting his hopes up.The only examples of honesty in the book are in children (both Ivan Ilyich's own childhood and his young son Vassya) and in the character of Gerassim, the butler's assistant. Vassya and Gerassim don't lie to him or see him as an inconvenience - they display simple human affection and love for him.Indeed, love seems to be what Tolstoy is saying life is all about - not romantic love necessarily, but a broader kind of love for your fellow human beings and for God. This is what was missing from Ivan Ilyich's life as he immersed himself in petty advancement and the acquisition of meaningless accoutrements. This deathbed revelation at first causes him great agony as he rages against all the lost time, but in the end it's what allows him to find peace.

[cestovatela · Évaluation : 3 sur 5 étoiles]

Leo Tolstoy examines death up close. The story went exactly where I expected it to: old man regrets follies of life on deathbed and turns religious. I felt like this was more a fable or morality tale than a real showcase of human emotions.

[reneepaule · Évaluation : 5 sur 5 étoiles]

Nice. Very nice short story. A lot of self-reflection, which is right up my street, as it were.

[quibee · Évaluation : 5 sur 5 étoiles]

Wonderful from the start, where a colleague goes to the main character's funeral out of a sense of duty and the small inner dialogues and inner calculations that go on about Iván Ilyich's death, back through the (rather vapid) life of Ivan.Wonderful writing.

[thecrow2 · Évaluation : 4 sur 5 étoiles]

The book is nothing more about than the life and death of an ordinary everyday man but Tolstoy was able to write this almost like a poem, beautifully and emotionally.

[foggidawn · Évaluation : 4 sur 5 étoiles]

This novella opens with a scene reminiscent of the one shown to Scrooge by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: Ivan Ilyich has died, and his friends, colleagues, and relations gather for the funeral, but also to advance their own interests. Who will be promoted into his old position? Can his wife wrangle a better pension out of the government? And the weekly card game will go on as scheduled, won’t it? The reader then gets a survey of Ivan’s life, from school days, to married life, through career advancements, and through the illness that eventually leads to his death. There’s a lot of focus on the big questions: why death, and why pain? Did Ivan lead the life he was meant to lead? What if he got it all wrong?One gets the sense that Tolstoy was working through his thoughts on these matters. It would be silly to say that I “enjoyed” this book, but I appreciated it (though, when it comes to the Russians, I’ll take Dostoyevsky over Tolstoy any day). It’s a big subject for such a small volume; I’m glad I finally read it, though I probably won’t read it again.