While reading "The Death of Ivan Ilych," I slowly became aware of another possibility. You might remember Gary Gold bringing something up like this yesterday, or whatever the relation between days it will be when you read this in the future. The basic idea is that much of what takes place is in Ivan Ilych's own mind, his impending death, his bouts of good feeling, maybe it all takes place because of his mindset with regard to these things.
Ivan Ilych is greatly angered by those around him for constantly denying the fact that he is dying, and believes that they are merely trying to deceive him so he'll feel better, or to avoid the issue entirely. In many cases a positive attitude and having faith has often resulted in seemingly miraculous recoveries. Maybe in this case it is Ilych's own decidedly negative outlook that dooms him to death. His initial realization of his inevitable death causes him to reflect on his life and his mindset, and perhaps what he sees there is too much to bear, in a way robs him of his will to live. He doesn't necessarily give in to his death, but rather becomes resigned to it, and accepts it. Perhaps it is his lack of will to continue fighting that dooms him to a death that could have been otherwise avoided.
Something that seems to confirm my suspicions is the scene(s) with Gerasim. When Praskovya Fedoronova tells the doctor of Ivan Ilych's ritual with Gerasim holding up his legs, the doctor says, "What's to be done? These sick people do have foolish fancies of that kind, but we must forgive them" (308 254). There is no medical basis for elevating one's legs in a situation such as this, so why does it make Ivan Ilych feel better? Perhaps it is not that actual lifting of the legs, but rather the spiritual support that Gerasim offers Ivan Ilych, the idea that there is someone who is willing to empathize with him and share in his pain, and therefore willing to lessen it.
Ivan Ilych is not happy with the life he has led, and has no wish to continue to do so. He reflects on his choices, and the people around him seem to reflect back at him the same or similar image he himself sees in his mind's mirror. It is this knowledge that saps his will to continue on, and though he is committed to death, he is happy. He has finally broken out of the prison of his life, a "[life] most terrible." (430)
1 comment:
Dave--I'm not sure if I agree that Ilych's resignation prevents him from recovering, since I think he struggles pretty mightily against death for a long time and only becomes resigned as he realizes that that none of the treatments help, that the doctors are actually looking at him as a lost cause, and that the people around him encouraging him to try harder and get well are a bunch of hypocrites and liars. To me, it seems as though his resignation starts to occur after everything else has failed, and that the resignation at that point begins to serve a positive purpose by refocusing his thoughts on his whole life, not just on his symptoms and his pain. And once he begins to do that, he can begin to see how miserable he has been.
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