Ivan Ilych and the Contraction of Time & Space

The contraction of time and space in The Death of Ivan Ilych is an interesting formal device that Tolstoy employs to emphasis the futility of the physical life and also the importance of the spiritual one. This artistic contrivance shows that life is not merely confined to the specific period between birth and death. The story begins by looking generally at Ivan’s life and as it progresses, focuses more and more on specific times and places. We see Tolstoy minimize the temporal framework of Ivan’s life. The first four chapters of the book are spent examining 40 years of Ivan’s life. The second four cover only a few months, while the last four focus solely on the last four weeks of Ivan’s life. I would argue that this shrinkage of time is used deliberately by Tolstoy to show us the finite quality of human life. Though more subjective, I would also suggest Tolstoy intentional created this story to be short. Like this book, the story of each human being is relatively short, and ultimately ends in death. Time doesn’t stop for Ivan. As can be seen with the shrinking of time in this book, time in our lives also shrinks, with each day bringing us closer to death, and focusing us more on the spiritual world and much less on the physical.

The contraction of time in Ivan is also mimicked by the contraction of space. Like the concept of time, it too begins on a large scale and slowly narrows in on the more precise. Ivan begins his life moving from town to down, demonstrating a great deal of freedom and choice. As he reaches midlife, he moves to a city and settles down in an apartment. Closer to the end of his life, his illness confines him to his study, and later on he cannot even rise from his sofa. His previous physical freedom has been restricted to the point where he cannot even move himself without help.

Throughout this entire story, we feel as though we are walking into a broad mouthed tunnel and slowly being forced towards a narrow, precise ending. Ivan’s life also follows this pattern. His life slowly contracts, each contraction bringing him closer to death and eternity. Figuratively speaking, Ivan’s life is like a countdown, slowly but surely bringing him to zero, which is ultimately his death. Once his world contracts enough that he reaches that hypothetical zero, Ivan’s spirit is finally able to escape physical boundaries. It is at the point that he is able to be truly free. Not free as he was at the beginning of his life when he was slowly being forced towards death, but eternally free both physically and spiritually. Through his literary technique, Tolstoy is able to bring that feeling a little closer to us. His literary style in the Death of Ivan Ilych mimics Ivan’s life, which can be seen as an allegory to the life of every human.

image created by: Bethann McLaren
with: Photoshop CS
font: aquiline, 18th century