The Five Stages Of Grief In The Death Of Ivan Illyich

From the beginning of "The Death of Ivan Illyich," it is clear that Tolstoy believes there are two types of lifestyles in this world. Those like Ivan, his wife Praskovya, and essentially everyone else around them who are artificial and shy away from the actualities of life, but also those like Gerasim who live an authentic life and realize existence is about compassion and individualized thought. The reality of death is a central theme of Tolstoy's novel and the experiences and choices made by characters within "The Death of Ivan Illyich" provide a detailed explanation of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross's five stages of grief. In her book Death and Dying, published in 1969, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross defines the five stages of grief as: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (Axelrod, "Stages of

Kübler-Ross defines depression as a reaction to practical implications relating to the loss. Sadness and regret predominate this type of depression…It is our quiet preparation to separate and to bid our loved one farewell (Axelrod, "Stages of Grief"). A key feature of this stage is the separation from others and society and Ivan proves this through his detachment from his wife and friends. "Latterly during the loneliness in which he found himself as he lay facing the back of the sofa, a loneliness in the midst of a populous town and surrounded by numerous acquaintances and relations but that yet could not have been more complete anywhere - either at the bottom of the sea or under the earth - during that terrible loneliness Ivan Ilyich had lived only in memories of the past. Pictures of his past rose before him one after another. (Tolstoy, "The Death of Ivan Illyich" pg. ###). Even though Ivan is surrounded by people, his artificial life and the similar lives of those around him, create a certain disconnect and the only comfort he experiences comes from the reliving of his own