Hypocrisy In The Death Of Ivan Ilyich

What is a common theme amongst friends, family, religion, and society in general? Hypocrisy. It is a behavior that contradicts what one claims to believe or feel. It can be found anywhere and it is inevitable. In The Death of Ivan Ilyich there are great examples of everyday hypocrisy. The story centers around a man who went to the right school, had the right connections and the right marriage. However, when Ivan falls ill and dies every character's true motives and feelings come to light. The story reveals that hypocrites are everywhere and though they may want different things it’s solely to benefit their own wants.

In the beginning of the story Ivan’s friends and colleagues serve as the first example of hypocrisy. They were his “...most

intimate… acquaintances.” Despite being closest to Ivan they had to read about his death. They did not bother to keep up to date with him personally. As Ivan’s so-called friends, they should have been distraught and completely in shock over his death but they only spoke about his death seriously for a brief moment. It soon turned to talk about “the changes and promotions” that would now arise in their favor. All his colleagues wanted to do was to step over him and climb the social ladder. Not only did they seem indifferent to their friend’s death but they viewed Ivan’s funeral as a burden. They did not think of his funeral as a final goodbye but as a formality. They knew they were expected to be there as his friends but only wanted to keep up appearances.
Another hypocrite in Ivan’s life is none other than his own wife, Praskovya. As a wife she is supposed to love, trust, and cherish her husband but she seems to do the exact opposite. Before the funeral she is in tears, as any grieving widow would be, but when she’s speaking with Peter she stops and speaks of her husband scornfully. She was speaking about Ivan’s last days when she said, “Oh, what I have suffered!” Instead of feeling sorrowful over her husband’s death she only worries about herself. Instead of reminiscing over husband with Peter she revealed that she only wanted to see how she could “...obtain a grant of money from the government…” She merely wanted money and tries to hide her real motives behind behavior expected of her.
Throughout the entire story the characters are only doing and acting in certain ways for their own selfish gain. Ivan’s friends did not go to his funeral because they cared about him and Praskovya did not stay with Ivan out of love. They did what they had to do to continue their facade. Their lives were fake and their actions were merely strategic moves. Ivan became aware of all this hypocrisy when it was too late and the true tragedy was he was just like them. The only real and honest thing in Ivan’s life was his death.