Reading Notes W11: Tolstoy, Part A

• Ivan Egorovich Shebek had a private room where a conversation focused on the Krasovski case (740)
• Ivan Ilyich died February 4th, 1882 (740)
• Fedor Vasilievich wonders about his promotion now that Ilyich has died(740)
• Peter Ivanovich says he needs to apply for his brother-in-law's transfer (741)
• Ivanovich recognized Ilyich's sister at the entrance to the Ilyich house (741)
• Peter Ivanovich made the sign of the cross and stopped after he felt it went on too long. He looked at the corpse (742)
• Schwartz bowed when told that the service was going to begin but didn't accept nor decline the invitation to go to the service (743)
• The widow kept getting her shawl stuck on furniture and Ivanovich kept trying to help her (743)
• Ivanovich remarked that Ilyich's death must be hard on her. She tells him to smoke and then he lights a cigarette (744)
• She tells Ivanovich that her husband screamed incessantly for the last three days (744)
• She begins to cry because of how hard it is (745)
• Ivanovich meets a priest and recognizes Ilyich's daughter (745)
• Ivan Ilyich was a member of the Court of Justice and died at the age of 45 (746)
• Ilyich did things in school that used to seem horrid to him and make him feel disgusting (746)
• Respice Finem is latin for "Regard the end" (747)
• Comme il faut is french for "as one must" (748)
• Ivan Ilyich never abused his power (748)
• Praskovya Fedorovna came from a good family and didn't look bad and even had some property (749)
• Ilyich's wife, for no reason, began to disturb the pleasure and propriety of their life (749)
• His wife begain upbraiding him and abusing him with words every time he didn't fulfill her demands (749)
• As his wife grew more irritable, he focused more and more on his work. Seems like he's using his work as an escape from his wife. (750)
• After seven years of service in their town, he was transferred to another province as Public Prosecutor (750)
• His wife blamed him for every inconvenience they experienced in their new home (750)
• His life continued to flow as he wanted, pleasantly and properly (751)
• He lived for 17 years after his marriage (751)
• When he departed, the cheerful state of mind from his success and the harmony between him and his wife didn't leave him (753)
• There was a time when he mounted a step-ladder and made a false step then slipped (753)
• He spent his mornings in the law court and came home to dinner (754)
• His main pleasure was giving littler dinners. He would invite men and women of good social position. (755)
• He occasionally felt discomfort in his left side (755)
• His discomfort grew and he became more and more irritable (756)
• His wife felt that he had a dreadful temper and it made her life miserable. She felt sorry for herself and wished he would die but didn't actually want him to die because she needed his salary (756)
• Ivan Ilyich visited a doctor who had to decide between a floating kidney, chronic catarrh, or appendicitis. I'm curious as to why the doctor might have suspected appendicitis if Ilyich is having pain in his left side. The appendix pain would be on the right side. (756)
• Ilyich spent a good amount of time trying to understand the doctor and figure out if his condition was bad or not (757)
• He constantly consulted doctors since he became furious about his condition (758)
• His wife said that some days he would take his drops and stick to his diet but on other days he would forget his medicine and eat sturgeon which was forbidden (759)
• Several doctors told him he had a floating kidney (760)
• Ilyich went with Peter Ivanovich to see his friend who was a doctor (761)
• He's in denial. He kept saying his kidney doesn't hurt him before admitting that he's dying and trying to deceive himself (761-2)
• When he would move something himself, his wife would insist that the servants should do it so he doesn't hurt himself again (764)
• Gerasim is the butler's young assistant (765)
• Gerasim had to help Ilyich stand up to pull up his pants. (765)
• Gerasim helped Ilyich get comfortable in his seat (766)
• He liked talking to Gerasim (766)
• Gerasim would give up sleep to help support Ilyich's legs to keep him comfortable (767)
• Ilyich wanted to be able to cry and be petted and cried over. Gerasim's attitude helped satisfy this desire. But when Shebek would come over, Ilyich had to put on a serious face. The "falsity" around him poisoned his last days (767)
• Ilyich dreaded being left alone. He asked Peter to bring him his medicine before claiming that the medicine is deception and that he can't believe in it any longer (768)
• "If only it would come quicker! If only what would come quicker? Death, darkness?" (768)
• When visiting the doctor, his wife comes in and immediately finds the need to clarify that she's been there a long time and was coincidentally out of the room when the doctor arrived. (769)
• Peter asked him a question later and he responded by asking Peter to send in Gerasim (772)
• Gerasim suggested Ilyich take some opium for his pain. Ilyich took some. (772)
• Ilyich wants to live and not suffer (772)
• He wants to live well and pleasantly (773)
• He questions why he must die in agony (773)
• He pondered the question "What is this? Can it be that it is Death?" (774)
• "Resistance is impossible," Ilyich said. "There is no explanation! Agony, death... What for?" (775)
• "For Christ's sake let me die in peace!" (775)
• I'm beginning to see what his wife meant by saying he would scream incessantly.
• A force struck him in his chest and side. Two hours before his death, his son came in as he was screaming and waving his arms. His son held his hand and began to cry (777)
• Ilyich felt sorry for his family (777)
• He asked his wife to take his son away from him. He said sorry to both of them. He then saw light. "So what's what it is! What joy!" (778)
• "He drew in a breath, stopped in the midst of a sigh, stretched out, and died. (778)

Holstoy, Leo. "The Death of Ivan Ilyich." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. E, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 735-778