#ivan ilyich

[vakravia]

Ivan Ilyich, Lisa and Praskovya ⌛ [the death of ivan ilyich, lev tolstoy]

25/05/2023

Thinking of reading Anna Karenina as soon as I finish Crime and Punishment because I've only read this one book by Lev Tolstoy.

[hermitthrush]

My one fear is that tomorrow I may die without having come to know myself.

Sadegh Hedayat, The Blind Owl (1936) | D.P. Costello translation, Chapter 1.

[leighlim]

There were moments after long suffering when what he wanted most of all (shameful as it might be for him to admit) was to be pitied like a sick child. He wanted to be caressed, kissed, cried over, as sick children are caressed and comforted. He knew that it was an important functionary with a greying beard, and so this was impossible; yet all the same he longed for it.

‘The Death of Ivan Ilyich’ by Leo Tolstoy / Quoted by Alain de Botton (Status Anxiety - P. 228) 

[sara-hamad]

موت إيفان إيليتش ..

the death of ivan ilyich

كان البطل قد فقد حبه لزوجته منذ وقت طويل وكان أولاده لغزًا بالنسبة إليه لا أصدقاء له سوى هؤلاء الذين يمكنهم أن يدفعوا مسيرته المهنية الى الأمام أو آخرين من ذوي المناصب العالية ممن سوف يلقون عليه ببعض من بريق مجدهم.

إيفان إيليتش رجل منسحق تحت وطأة انشغاله بالمكانة ‏يعيش في سانت بطرسبرج ، في شقةٍ كبيرة مؤثثة و مُزينة وفقًا للذوق الرائج آنذاك ، ويقيم من الحين إلى آخر حفلة عشاء بليدة لا يُقال خلالها بالمرة أي شيء دافئ أو صادق ...

يعمل قاضيًا في المحكمة العليا وهو منصب يتمتع به أساسًا لما يجلبه له من تبجيل أحيانا يقرأ إيفان إيليتش ، في آخر الليل كتابًا يكون " حديث المدينة " ولكن فقط بعد أن يستشف من المجلات أي موقفٍ ينبغي اتخاذه نحو هذا الكتاب. ويجمل تولستري حياة القاضي في جملةٍ واحدة

" كانت المُتع التي استمدها إيفان إيليتش من عمله ثمرة التفاخر ؛ و المتع التي أستمدها من المجتمع ثمرة الزهو الفارغ ؛ غير أن المتعة الحقيقية الوحيدة كان يجدها في لعب الورق "

ثم احس إيفان بألمٍ في جنبه وهو في سن الخامسة والاربعين وانتشر الألم تدريجيا في جسمه كله. لم يستطع أطباؤه تشخيص حالته ‏وتحدثوا بغموض و غطرسة عن حالة كبد عائمة واضطراب في مستويات الأملاح ووصفوا له مجموعة متنوعة من الأدوية وسرعان ما منعه اعتلال صحته من الذهاب الى العمل و أحس كأن نارًا تتقد في أمعائه و فقد شهيته للطعام واهم منها ‏فقد رغبته في لعب الورق ، إلى أن أتضح ببطء لإيفان وجميع المحيطين به أنه سيموت بعد فترة وجيزة ..

وكما تبين لم يكن هذا بالشيء البغيض للغاية عند كثيرين من زُملاء إيفان في المحكمة يتوقع فيودور فاسيلفتش انه برحيل إيفان سيكون من المرجع أن يحل هو محل شتابل أو فينكوف ، و هي ترقية تساوي ثمانمئة روبل إضافية بجانب مبلغ بدل نفقات مكتب . بينما يتخيل موظفٌ كبيرٌ آخر بالمحكمة ، هو بيورن إيفانو فيتش أن الان بمقدوره نقل شقيق زوجته من كالوجا ، ما سيسعد زوجته و يخفف من أجواء التوتر في حياته المنزلية . غير أن النبأ كان أقسى قليلًا على أسرة إيليتش نفسه ، فرغم أن زوجته غير آسفة بشدة على موته الوشيك ، فالقلق يساورها بشأن مقدار المعاش ، بينما ابنته المنشغلة بصورتها الاجتماعية تخشى أن جنازة والدها ستخرب خُطط زفافها.

يدركُ إيفان من جانبه، إذ لم يتبقَ من حياته غير أسابيع معدودة أنه قد أهدر وقته على الأرض في عيش حياةٍ وجيهة و محترمة خارجيًا لكنها. مجدية و قاحلة داخليًا . يستعرض حياته رجوعًا إلى صباه و تنشئته و إلى فترة تعليمه و مسيرته المهنية ، ليكتشف أن كل ما فعله لم يكن دافعه غير الرغبة في الظهور بمظهر الأهمية في أعين الآخرين ، مع التضحية باهتماماته و مشاعره على الدوام لصالح كسب إعجاب الناس الذين ، كما يرى الآن فقط ، لا يكترثون لأمره بأهون درجة

ذات ليلة و بينما يرقد يقظًا في الساعات الأولى من الصباح ، يعتصر من الألم " يخطرُ له أن تلك الدوافع العابرة التي نادرًا ما مَسَّها للاحتجاج ضد ما يستحسنه أصحاب المكانة العالية ، تلك الدوافع الغامضة التي كبتها في داخله دائما و أبدًا ، ربما كانت على التحديد كل ما يهم و جميع ما عداها لم يكن بالشئ الحقيقي بالمرة . واجباته الوظيفية ، مسلكه في الحياة ، عائلته ، القيم التي اتبعها أبناء المجتمع و أهل مهنته كل ذلك ربما لم يمكن بالشيء الحقيقي ..

يأسف إيفان لأنه بدد حياته القصيرة ، و يتضاعف أسفه إذ يدرك أن مكانته تتعلق فقط بما يحبه المحيطون به ، و ليس ذاته الحقّه ، ذاته الهشة سهلة الانكسار . لقد فاز بالاحترام لأنه قاضيًا ، و أبا مُوسرًا و رب أسرة ، و لكن عندما أوشك ذلك كله أن يتبدد ، لم يعد بوسعه أن يعتمد على محبة أي شخص ، فَتُركَ لكربه و مخاوفه : (( أشد عذاب قاسى منه إيفان إيليتش أنه ما من أحدٍ منحه ما كان يتعطش إليه من عطف و شفقه . مرت به لحظات بعد عناءٍ طويل حينما كان أكثر ما يريده ( و كم شعرَ بالخزي لاعترافه بهذا ) هو أن يحنو عليه الآخرون مُشفقين و كأنه طفلٌ مريض. أرادَ منهم أن يداعبوه و يقبّلوه و يبكون لأجله كما يفعلون مع الأطفال المرضى للترويح عنهم . كان يعرف أنه مسؤولٌ كبير ، له لحيةٌ رمادية ، و هكذا فإن ما يطلبه مستحيل ؛ لكنه ظل تواقًا إليه رغم كل شيء ))

The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy

[josh20xx]

3 am is pickle time.

[sickscientist]

I'm really sick in the moment so #ivanilitchkinnie

[chlohiostate]

Death Has Personal Space Too: Response to The Death of Ivan Ilyich

Death Has Personal Space Too: Response to The Death of Ivan Ilyich

The Death of Ivan Ilyich, written by Leo Tolstoy, 1886. Death Has Personal Space Too Much of life is spent choosing between the outer, physical, material being and the inner, spiritual being. The nature of death serves as an intriguing dichotomy. From the physical perspective, (more…)

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[themindfulword]

A LIFE WORTH LIVING: Death, Tolstoy's Ivan Ilyich and the effects of mind-wandering

In Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich, the main character’s mind tends to wander in both time and space. “In court he found his mind wandering; he would be miles away, wondering whether to have plain or moulded cornices with his curtains.”

Mind-wandering: Negative or positive?

In the 1960s and '70s, psychologist Walter Mischel’s "Marshmallow Experiment" proved that mind-wandering is, among other things, related to self-control. In these studies, nursery school children were offered a choice between one small reward provided immediately, or a larger reward provided later—one versus a handful of marshmallows. Before the children could receive the larger reward, they had to wait for a short period of time (approximately 15 minutes), during which they were left alone. Some children couldn't take their minds off the marshmallow there in front of them; they ate it as quickly as possible. On the other hand, some were good at distracting themselves. Years later, during follow-up studies, the researcher found that in general, the children who showed self-discipline and waited had a higher level of well-being. Here, mind-wandering was positive. Therefore, being able to think about the future might not be as devastating as some self-help gurus claim. Conversely, in other circumstances, mind-wandering may be considered a waste of time; that is, lacking benefit. Again, this comes down to whether we're able to distinguish between long-term and short-term rewards and whether we agree on the value of those rewards. For example, in most Western countries, young people are often encouraged to drop the sabbatical year and finish school as quickly as possible, in order to become “real” citizens with jobs. However, for some, a year of travelling, reflection, or doing nothing may help them find their true vocation. The point is, we seldom know the outcome beforehand. Life is an experiment. We don't formulate questions before we face something that makes us think. In the "Marshmallow Experiment," the children knew the consequences, but for many aspects of life, we don’t know. At times, we distract ourselves because we don’t dare face ourselves. To truly know ourselves, we must have the courage to take care of ourselves—stretch our comfort zones. The process of maturing, therefore, requires patience. Thus, whether mind-wandering is beneficial or not depends on our capacity to distinguish between profit and benefit, with the former belonging to the capitalistic sphere and the latter to the existential realm. The main difference between profit and benefit is that someone else can always carry out activities that produce profit (the definition of economy is the organization of scarcity; that is, competition), whereas what's beneficial to me depends on my experience of moments I don’t wish to outsource. The problem with Ivan Ilyich in Leo Tolstoy’s masterful story is that his wandering mind isn't beneficial to him. His mind wanders because he doesn’t want to live his life, although no one else can do it for him. Not only does Ivan Ilyich neglect living in the present moment, he also seems to be disconnected within himself. He lives as if he doesn’t have faith in life. He lives as if he's already out of this world: dead.

The man who never seems to live

The Death of Ivan Ilyich is the story of a man who, throughout most parts of his life, never seems to live. One day, when climbing a stepladder, Ivan Ilyich slips and falls. He passes off the accident as “only a bruise.” Yet, the bruise is the beginning of him becoming aware of his own death, as the bruise turns into an unbearable pain that slowly drags all the energy out of him. In the late stages of his undiagnosed illness, he wonders whether he has actually lived a happy life and whether his present suffering is a result of his careless lifestyle. It becomes apparent that his general lack of trust in life's events makes him doubtful and insecure. He hasn’t been paying attention to his life. Tolstoy doesn't present us with concrete answers to the existential and spiritual questions the story raises regarding how we should live. On the contrary, he shows us that dying an unhappy and unpeaceful death is the result of not living as fully as possible. Ivan Ilyich simply has too many doubts. Has he been living a life of ignorance, without seeing, knowing, or even being aware that life one day ends? As Tolstoy writes, “All his life the syllogism he had learned from Kiesewetter’s logic—Julius Caesar is a man, men are mortal, therefore Caesar is mortal—had always seemed to him to be true only when applied to Caesar, certainly not to him.” Like many others, Ilyich forgets or finds it difficult to accept that he, too, is a mortal being. He seems to neglect the fact that he doesn't own his life, regardless of the amount of material possessions and titles he gathers. Life passes through us, changing us, and there are no certainties in life except death. All we can do is protect and care for the joyful interactions that we have with life in the best way possible, depending on our circumstances and our capacity to do so. We learn from overcoming obstacles; for instance, distracting ourselves from the marshmallow. Yet, we can also learn from investigating or unfolding the moment; that is, seeing our own reactions to the marshmallow as the object of our investigation. What are we capable of? Why should we not eat it now? If we hate marshmallows, then eating one is, after all, better than eating five!

A life worth living

Experiencing a happy death is to avoid an ending like that of Ivan Ilyich, who can’t stop wondering whether, “I’ve been wrong in the way I’ve lived my life.” Has he? Have I? Have you? How can we enhance the likelihood that our deaths will be peaceful and serene, and not be burdened by regret and remorse? How can each of us become more likely to live a life worth living? These questions are fundamental to Tolstoy’s story and at the heart of all philosophical thinking and practice. The tentative answer is to experience death as part of living. It requires attention (and perhaps, also, a little less self-deception!) to notice that the wrinkles are already there. We are dying because we are living. Death is never really our death. It comes from the outside, yet it awaits us all. Read more about life and death by visiting LESSONS AT VARANASI: Reflecting on life and death in India's most sacred city» image via Pixabay Click to Post