Another two weeks go by and Ivan quits lying. When his wife comes in to say that their daughter's fiancé has proposed, Ivan angrily asks her to let him die in peace.
Ivan begins to entertain seriously the idea that he has lived wrongly. He thinks that maybe he was too quick to suppress his attempts to resist what others considered good. Maybe those non-conformist urges were real after all, he thinks.
Once Ivan sees this, he begins to review his whole life and all his relationships. He sees that his deceptions have hidden both life and death from him. This awareness adds to his physical sufferings and he groans aloud.
At his wife's suggestion, Ivan takes communion, but since his confession is only ritual and not the truth that he has begun to realize, he.....
This is a free excerpt of 135 words. This section contains 286 words. This
study guide contains 20,664 words (approx. 69 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Literature Guide with our The Death of Ivan Ilych Access Pass.
