What Is the Meaning of “It” in The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy
When Ivan Ilyich was becoming sick, many of the doctors came to check on him. Ivan had a problem with these doctors because they dodged the fact that Ivan was going to die. Ivan saw right through these physicians, knowing that they were clouding their diagnosis. To Ivan Llyich only one question was important: was his case serious or not? The doctors ignored this question and from there on Ivan had to decide weather a floating kidney or appendicitis was his diagnostic. Ivan starts to use the word it, when he starts to get pains around his body. Ivan was very attending to it. He watched for everything that might disturb it and he became irritable at the slightest infringement of it.
When Ivan was healthy his life was satisfied but when death, meaning it faced him he was overwhelmed with loneliness. He was so lonely that he became depressed and started to blame himself for it. He even tried to hide it among his friends and his family but he couldn’t because it wasn’t going to go away. Ivan Llyich started to realize the impact from it, when he noticed that here was no light in his eyes. He tells his wife, “don’t u see it? Why, he’s a dead man! Look at his eyes- there’s no light in them”. Ivan started to realize the impact that it was going to make on his life. He realizes that it wasn’t a question of appendix or kidney, but a matter of life or death.
He realizes that it was going to happen and there was nothing doctors or him could do to stop it from happening. It had deceived Ivan Llyich because he thought it would go away, and he knew that it was obvious to everyone, beside himself that he was dying. The narrator states, “In depth of his heart Ivan Llyich knew that he was dying, but only was he not accustomed to the thought, he simply did not and could not grasp it. He eventually began to accept it when he became very ill. He would go to his room and lie down alone with it and try to face it in its face. It made Ivan Llyich realize that his life was
meaningless and as his illness progressed until his death, Ivan Ilyich felt increasingly the need to be loved. Only in front of death he knew what his real feeling was.
It and Ivan’s illness brings him face to face with his own self. Because of it, Ivan was able to reflect on his life and try to analyze why he was dying. Ivan’s illness reveals to him the nature of life. His death gave birth to new consciousness. He suddenly perceived that man’s essential life belongs to the spirit through loving of people. Before Ivan died he asked his family to forgive for him and he welcomed death.
