logo

61 pages 2 hours read

Leo Tolstoy

The Death of Ivan Ilyich

Fiction | Novella | Adult | Published in 1886

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Introduction

The Death of Ivan Ilyich

  • Genre: Fiction; novella
  • Originally Published: 1886
  • Reading Level/Interest: College/Adult
  • Structure/Length: 12 chapters; approx. 86 pages; approx. 2 hours, 45 minutes on audio
  • Protagonist and Central Conflict: Ivan Ilyich, an esteemed judge, falls while hanging curtains and suffers a pain in his side. As his pain worsens, so does his relationship with his family. Diagnosed with a terminal illness, Ivan must contend with his own mortality and whether he has lived a good and fulfilling life.
  • Potential Sensitivity Issues: Death and dying     

Leo Tolstoy, Author

  • Bio: 1828-1910; Russian writer regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time; born to a family of Russian nobility; fourth of five children; studied law and Asian languages at Kazan University but did not graduate; served as an artillery officer during the Crimean War; married Sophia Andreevna Behrs in 1862; had 13 children, 8 surviving to adulthood; profound influence on the development of Christian anarchist thought and that being a Christian requires pacifism; nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature every year from 1902-1906 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901, 1902, and 1909; died at age 82 of pneumonia; funeral procession was attended by thousands of peasants who lined the streets
  • Other Works: Childhood (1852); Family Happiness (1859); War and Peace (1869); Anna Karenina (1878); Resurrection (1899)

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text