SOURCE: Jahn, Gary R. “A Reading: Pattern and Structure, Themes and Confirmations.” In The Death of Ivan Ilich: An Interpretation, pp. 76-107. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993.

In the following essay, Jahn offers a thematic and stylistic analysis of The Death of Ivan Ilyich and places it within the context of Tolstoy's post-conversion works.

Most readers of The Death of Ivan Ilich would probably agree with the view expressed by William Edgerton: “As we finish the story, we suddenly realize that its ending illuminates its title: the meaningless physical life of Ivan Ilich was really his death, and his physical death marked the beginning of his spiritual life beyond time and space” (Edgerton, 300).

Many students of the story, however, have been uncomfortable with this conclusion. They can accept that Tolstoy wanted his readers to understand that Ivan Ilich had lived wrongly, but they question his success in portraying the...