Death & Dying: An Examination of Tolstoy and Chekhov through the Victorian Age
by Launcelot Roma


Anton Chekhov                                                   Leo Tolstoy

The Victorian Age (1830-1901) in England was a turbulent period full of rapid change and economic growth as industrialization expanded London.  England became a global player in the world of trade in an international level. This unsettling period created various reactions from the artists and writers of the time who expressed their views through their work and art. Across Europe, two writers during this period who made an impact within their own country and throughout the globe were Anton Chekhov and Leo Tolstoy. Although Ukrainian born Chekhov and Russian born Tolstoy grew up and worked away from England, their literary influence had transcended to the English speaking world.  Chekhov’s, “The Cherry Orchard”  was a play written around the time and death of Queen Victoria, a poignant example as the play symbolically portrays the death of an old generation and the rebirth of a new. “The Death of Ivan Illych”  by Tolstoy is a novella which reflected the theme of death and dying in a way that was never portrayed before.  With reference from an essay entitled “The Death of Ivan Illych: A Psychological Study on Death and Dying” by Y.J. Dayananda (1972), this paper will intertwine Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard” in which the drama conveyed in the play correlates with the five stages of dying as highlighted in Dayananda’s essay on “The Death of Ivan Illych”.  The five stages are core issues faced by the characters in both literary works and they have enhanced the richness of characterization, plot and drama in those writings.  These core issues and five stages are: Denial and Isolation, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance.

The first page of Tolstoy’s “The Death of Ivan Illych” introduces you to the announcement of Ivan’s death.  Cleverly, Tolstoy weaves the following sections of the novel as a process leading up to the death of his protagonist where Ivan faces the first issue of denial and isolation. Succeeding in his career and obtaining the necessary material possessions which secured his positioning in the status quo, Ivan reacts with denial and shock at the news of his fatal disease.

“It could not be called ill health if Ivan Illych sometimes said that he had a queer taste in his mouth and felt discomfort in his left side…The pain did not diminish, but Ivan Illych made efforts to force himself to think he was better.” (141-143)[1] 

Tolstoy had created a character in Ivan Illych who had everything to lose, his family had “formed a circle of acquaintances among the best people and were visited by people of importance” (140). This increases the intensity of Ivan’s denial and his sense of isolation because he feels a certain obligation to maintain his social standing.  Similarly, in “The Cherry Orchard” the theme of death is symbolically portrayed in the death of a family legacy and the fall of old Russia. Due to her family’s poor monetary management, Lyubov who owns the orchard faces huge debts and is confronted with the notion of selling the estate to settle the financial difficulties. Despite this dilemma, Lyubov and her family react with denial, with her continuous money-spending on frivolous notions and reacting negatively to plans in subdividing the property to gain money out of tourism; “Villas and summer visitors – forgive me saying so – its so vulgar” (Act 2, 1735)[2]. Lyubov admits to her mistakes saying that she has “always squandered money recklessly, like a madwoman” (1735), however, her actions prove to be a symptom of denial refusing to believe that their life of privilege is now over. As a result of her own mistake, Lyubov has indeed isolated her family by the decision to move to Paris, leaving her daughter Varya to manage the estate where her extravagant spending continued to occur spiraling them further into debt.  Ironically, although the family seem to be well traveled and given direct examples of progress in Paris (and London) a city at the time becoming highly industrialized in the Victorian age, were never really able to shake off the mentally of “old Russia” and quickly came back home after their five year stint abroad.

After denial, comes anger. This is a problem Ivan faces as he comes to grips with his fate. Despite this, Tolstoy enables the readers to sympathise with his situation as Ivan looks on in envy at the healthy people around him while his own body is succumbing to the illness. In particular, he directs his anger towards his wife and daughter. On his wife:

“ He looks at..the whiteness and plumpness and cleanliness of her hands and neck..her vivacious eyes. He hates her with his whole soul” (156)[3]

Of his daughter, Ivan describes his resentment at her youthfulness and her impatience with his own “suffering and (inevitable) death because it interfered with her happiness (158).  Chekhov on the other hand, creates dramatic tension in his play through the display of anger between his characters. This is effective in the play’s development and the realization of characters in the climax of the play in the revelation that Lophakin a family friend and confidante of Lyubov has bought out the orchard. Earlier in the play Lophakin is angered by the family’s denial and lack of action to better their financial position:

“ Forgive me, but I have never seen such frivolous, such queer, unbusinesslike people as you, my dear friends. You’re told in plain language that your estate is to be sold, and it’s as though you don’t understand it” (1735)[4]

          After going through the stages of denial and anger with his illness, Ivan goes through a bargaining stage, particularly with God. His wife convinces him to take the communion. In doing so, he reflects on his life and the mistakes he has made and he reacts as though the spiritual act had cleansed him of his sins.  Tolstoy conveys this dramatic turning point with exclamations from his protagonist, making his impending death a poignant time due to the wasted hope:

“..For a moment, there came a ray of hope.. He received the sacrament with tears in his eyes. When they laid him down again afterwards he felt a moment’s ease and the hope that he might live awoke in him again…”To live! I want to live! He said to himself.” (165)

Trofimov, the “eternal student” and love interest of Anya uses a metaphor to describe Russia as “the cherry orchard”.  In effect he is saying that Russia as a country is similar to Anya’s apathetic family - philosophizing, full of ideals with an inability to progress and face realities of the changing world. Chekhov uses Trofimov’s character to great effect as the “voice” of a new generation in this monologue as he explains to Anya that a bargain needs to be made in order for the new generation to flourish. This bargain equates to the metaphoric death of “the cherry orchard”:

“..Yet it’s quite clear that to begin to live we must first atone for the past, be done with it, and we can atone for it only by suffering, only by extraordinary, unceasing labour”. (1740)

          Depression is what Ivan feels after his spiritual awakening wanting to be left alone and grieving over his losses. In the last three days of his life, he was screaming in pain all alone.  He weeps at the “terrible loneliness.. the cruelty..and the absence of God… ‘Why does he torment me so terribly?” (160).  Tolstoy has clearly created a painfully truthful picture of the human complexities, the varying and contradictory emotions in dire circumstances within Ivan. Similarly, “The Cherry Orchard” takes on a depressive tone towards the latter half of the play where Lyubov grieves over her losses. This is also reflected in her daughter Varya’s depressiveness over the uncertainty of her supposed relationship with Lopakhin who expresses little interest in marriage. Chekhov raises the dramatic impact and comic in Lopakhin’s request for the orchestra to play lively music after his revelation in buying out the orchard. The music continues to play as Lyubov sinks into depression and “weeps bitterly” at the announcement, despite Anya’s comforting words and the empty promise of the purchase of a better orchard (1750).

The final stage of acceptance was evident in Ivan as he decides to beat the fear of death.  Tolstoy creates a new understanding and revelation by this final acceptance:

“And death.. where is it? So that’s what it is!’ he suddenly exclaimed aloud. ‘What joy!’…He drew in a breath, stopped in the midst of a sigh, stretched out and died” (167)

Although many critics have called this work of Tolstoy’s a “savage satire on the hypocrisy of conventional life”, it is clearly evident that Tolstoy has covered a topic that every man must face and possibly relate to at some level – death.  This piece of work receives its intensity and power as death or the prospect of it, is possibly the greatest crisis that a person must overcome.  In the same token, the death of a family legacy in “The Cherry Orchard” is a crisis that the characters up to the last minute of the play had to overcome. Lyubov stares one last time at the walls of her home as she responds to the happy calling of her name from outside with an exclamation; “We’re coming!” (1757), as they exit and leave Firs the old servant behind.  He comes to accept his own death and old age as he states; “There’s nothing left in you, nothing’s left, nothing…” (1758), lying motionless according to the stage directions.  The presence of death is symbolically portrayed in the dramatic ending with the sound of an axe chopping away at the orchard and the lone presence of old Firs lying in the doorway. The directions on the play indicate stillness at the very end, which accentuates the acceptance of this symbolic death. The chopping sound of the axe echoes the “unceasing labour” of a new generation prophesized by the young student, Trofimov.

          Although both writers were not of English origin, the theme of Death and Dying with it’s undertones of social class and standing and the progress of commercialization was a prominent feature of the Victorian era. Their influence had transcended over to the English speaking world as the problems the characters faced within both pieces of work were issues that are universal; denial and Isolation, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Thus, both Tolstoy and Chekhov effectively expressed these core issues for a wider audience to contemplate on and appreciate even to this day and age.

 

 

WORKS CITED

 

Greenbalt S., Abrams M.H. The Norton Anthology of English Literature Volume 2. London. RR Donnelly, 2006

 

Kalaidijan W., Roof J., Watt S. Understanding Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003. 2241-2268

 

Katz R. Michael Tolstoy’s Short Fiction. New York. Norton & Company, 1991

Pozorski Aimee. A companion to Understanding Literature. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003

 

 

Anton Chekhov’s biography retrieved at website:

http://www.online-literature.com/anton_chekhov/

 

Leo Tolstoy’s biography retrieved at website:

http://www.online-literature.com/Tolstoy/