The Death of Ivan Ilyich (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Leo Tolstoy
- First Published: 1886
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Psychological realism
- Time of Work: The 1880’s
- Setting: St. Petersburg, Russia, and nearby provinces
- Genres: Psychological fiction, Short fiction, Domestic realism
- Subjects: Values, Self-discovery, Nineteenth century, Middle classes, Truth, Death or dying, Lawyers, Funeral rites or ceremonies, Terminal illness or terminally ill, Materialism, Russia or Russian people
- Locales: St. Petersburg, Russia
Characters Discussed
Ivan Ilyich Golovin (ih-VAHN ihl-YIHCH goh-LOH-vihn), a prominent judge. A genial and conscientious lawyer, the popular Ivan Ilyich hides from reality under a cloak of decorum. Obtaining an excellent appointment in St. Petersburg, he finds there a house and an ordered routine exactly to his taste. He feels that life is, at last, just as it should be. Then he learns that he is the victim of a fatal disease. Facing death, he is forced to look, for the first time, at the truth about his life. Only as he becomes aware of the real meaning of his past decisions...
[The entire page is 515 words long]
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