The Material Environment as a Means of Forming Psychologism in L. N. Tolstoy’s Novel “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”

Abstract

The article examines the specifics of the material environment in the story by L. N. Tolstoy “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” as one of the ways of forming psychologism. The artistic world of the work, saturated with material details, on the one hand, characterizes the inner world of the hero, on the other hand, it becomes an active participant in the action, ultimately causing the death of Ivan Ilyich. The story presents a specific image of a house-grave, in contrast to a house - a place of strength, unity, harmony, as in earlier works (“War and Peace”, “Anna Karenina”). Ivan Ilyich’s home, furnished with excessive attention, is filled with a huge number of things that create a kind of “rebellion,” hasten the owner’s departure, make the last days unbearable, and even after his death, distract the attention of those who came to say goodbye. Things in the story appear as an integral part of life, taking away vitality from people who have chosen a soulless existence and become hostages of these very things and external gloss.