The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy | Chapter 8

Chapter 8 of The Death of Ivan Ilyich. Ivan is in unremitting pain, and he knows his life is inexorably waning. As he's offered his morning tea, Ivan Ilyich realizes those around him want things to be regular. He rejects the tea and asks to be left alone. Then Ivan doesn't want to be left alone. He asks for Peter, the footman, for his medicine, though he knows it won't help. Peter returns with tea and helps Ivan Ilyich wash and put on a clean shirt. Drinking the tea brings back the pain, so Ivan sends Peter away. The falsely cheerful doctor talks about the weather before asking Ivan how he feels. He knows the doctor doesn't really care, but he says the pain never leaves me and never subsides. Praskovia's attitude is that Ivan's illness is his own fault. She tells Ivan that another doctor will be coming to see him later that day. She pretends she's doing this for Ivan's sake, but he knows that's a lie. The celebrated specialist arrives, and again there's talk of Ivan's kidneys and appendix. It's as if there's a chance that they can be fixed and save his life. Ivan knows better. The glimmer of hope the doctor offered is soon dissipated. Ivan Ilyich descends once again into depression, and his pain returns. After dinner, which Ivan barely nibbles at, his wife walks into his room, dressed in her finest clothes, to go to the theater with her daughter and son-in-law. Awkwardly, the family makes small talk before they head out. After they're gone, Ivan feels better because the falsity had gone with them. Ivan Ilyich asks that Gerasim be brought to him. Ivan Ilyich's only relief from this suffering, from this reality, would be death. Adding to Ivan's suffering is his isolation. While Gerasim is not around, Ivan is caught between two conflicting desires, the need for company and the desire to be alone. Both needs are compromised by the falsity and deceptiveness of those around him. They deny the true severity of his condition and that he's dying. The family gathering prior to their departure for the theater reveals the unbridgeable distance between them and Ivan. It makes painfully clear how isolated Ivan truly is. Ivan despises the false hardiness and misplaced confidence of the doctors who come to see him. Tolstoy describes one doctor's gymnastic movements during his examination, no doubt performed to cover up his ignorance.