|
The Death of Iván Ilych was published in 1886, several years after a period of depression and personal intellectual turmoil (1875-1878) that ended with Tolstoys conversion to Christianity. ... The great crisis preceding his conversion began with Tolstoys struggle with the inevitability of death, which for Tolstoy seemed to make life meaningless. ...
Not surprisingly, The Death of Iván Ilych is a deeply religious work, but religious on its own terms. The protagonist is a somewhat clueless, spiritually empty hero whose long illness forces him to confront the meanings of both death and life. Iván Ilych represents a small but important class of urban bureaucrats, prominent in the day-to-day running of Russian affairs in Tolstoys days, whose lives became increasingly detached from nature, the land, and spiritual values.
Approximate Word count = 554 Approximate Pages = 2.2 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
|