Jeremy Bannister, New York, 2009Bridging the Spiritual Chasm
Last night I was proofing this lit essay for my son Jeremy, who is 15 and a sophomore in high school. Reading it, I felt it was the first time Tolstoy was made crystal clear to me. Or maybe better to say, his knowledge of love and death was made clear.
I asked : "Would you mind if I published this?"
Ever blithe, he raised his eyebrows slightly and said: "Why would I mind?"
— Celia Farber
Bridging The Spiritual Chasm
In The Death of Ivan Ilych Ivan Ilych is petrified at the thought of his own mortality when he is forced to confront it. His fear, which translates into pain, is almost endless. The only time Ivan feels soothed is when he is interacting with the butler's assistant, Gerasim. Gerasim represents friendship to Ivan. He represents a previously disconnected bridge across the spiritual chasm that separates Ivan from others. Every person is separated from all other people when he or she is born. This divide occurs invariably. Throughout the book, Tolstoy illustrates that the nature of humans is to bridge this gap. He uses the characters' thoughts, emotions, words and actions to make this clear. Metaphors are key in promoting this theme as well. Not only does Tolstoy answer what is human nature, but he also explores why is human nature. An interpretation of the book with regard to the latter is, when the divide is no more, and one has assimilated one's self into the Other, life has attained meaning. In other words, relationships are the meaning of life. Another way to look at it is to say that conquering the fear of mortality is the meaning of life, and that one must not be spiritually alone in order to master death. Many would argue that Ivan Ilych is only afraid of death whilst he is alone, and that in conquering the divide between himself and others, he finally conquers death and discovers the meaning of life.
Ivan Ilych lived his life such that up until his death he was utterly alone, spiritually. By death I do not mean the moment that he actually "stretched out and died." I mean, rather, the period of time between when Ivan's mindset switched to that of a dying man, and the moment he actually died. Tolstoy opens the book with scenes of Ivan's closest associates learning of the passing of their acquaintance, and attending his funeral. The reader is informed of the first thoughts of a few of the men upon hearing of the death of their "friend." Each is thinking of the possible promotions, salary raises and marital benefits of this occurrence. We are told that even his wife, Praskovya Fedorovna, was on the verge of telling off Peter Ivanovich, an acquaintance of Ivan's, for sitting on a certain "pouffe," when she considered that "such a warning was out of keeping with her present condition and so changed her mind." This is quite a poignant introduction to the story. Tolstoy is certainly trying to give the reader some idea of how to go about analyzing Ivan. As one reads on it is always in the back of one's mind, the falsity of his interactions throughout the book.
When he enters the stage of his life that is death, Ivan is isolated by yet another psychological divide. This is the divide between the emotionally living and the emotionally dead. His wife, his butler and his acquaintances cannot fathom death or mortality and do not attempt to. The first person that Ivan Ilych ever had a genuine interaction with was Gerasim, the butler's assistant. Gerasim is not distant and alien to Ivan like everyone else because Gerasim, although young, has accepted mortality, and so is on Ivan's side of the new divide. When Gerasim is talking to Peter Ivanovich at the funeral Peter says, "Well, friend Gerasim, it's a sad affair isn't it?" Gerasim replies, "It is God's will. We shall all come to it someday." This clearly displays Gerasim's view of death and mortality. Ivan at one point in the book asks Gerasim to hold his legs up, and when he does, Ivan's fear finally leaves him. He feels no pain because his pain was a manifestation of fear. Gerasim's act feels to Ivan like an act of loving friendship that he has never had before. Ivan feels, for the first time in his life, what it is like to have crossed the canyon separating him from love for another person.
The final scene of this book is crucial to understanding Ivan Ilych's journey through death to the meaning of life. The end has come and Ivan begins screaming and flailing in desperation. He feels confused and doubtful and utterly alone. He suddenly realizes that his life has not been lived correctly, and he begins to ponder inwardly what the correct way is, while still screaming outwardly. Tolstoy writes: "The dying man was still screaming desperately and waving his arms. His hand fell on the boy [his son]'s head, and the boy caught it, pressed it to his lips, and began to cry. At that very moment Ivan Ilych fell through and caught sight of the light, and it was revealed to him that though his life had not been what it should have been, this could still be rectified."
In the final stages of Ivan's death, when he sees his son weeping on his account, he finally understands what it is to love and to be loved. He has built and crossed the bridge spanning the spiritual chasm, and on the other side he finds no fear of death. "'Where is it? What death?" There was no fear because there was no death. In place of death there was light. "'So that's what it is!' he suddenly exclaimed aloud. 'What joy!'"
Ivan Ilych has conquered death, and profound meaning comes to him in the final hours of his life. "'Death is finished,' he said to himself. 'It is no more!'"
