Sometimes the Snow Comes Down in June

If Ivan Ilych were a real person, I would not be his friend. Actually, I doubt anyone would be his friend. Although both superficial and self-serving, those are not the only characteristics that make Ivan Ilych a disagreeable man. He lives his life by others’ definition of what is right. He also does not care about his family or his children and the only things he seems to put any thought or effort into are things that he thinks will impress others. Ivan follows by the rules of the game and does not listen to his own morals, that is if he knows what those morals are. By the end of his life, he has completely lost the sense of who he truly is, and what it is to be happy. He leaves the earth regretful and friendless.

Joseph Addison, an English poet and essayist once said, “True happiness arises, in the first place, from the enjoyment of one’s self, and in the next, from the friendship and conversation of a few select companions.” Reading that quote got me to think about what Ivan Ilych thought about himself before his sickness, since the author didn’t allow us to see many of his self-criticisms. It is obvious by the end of the story that Ivan came to a realization about his empty life, but why did it take him until his lingering death to do so? He made himself believe that he was happy by focusing on material things, yet did not realize that those things do not bring happiness or life fulfillment.

Throughout his young life, Ivan did things merely because they were the social norm. He got married to a decent wife, had an ordinary family, and held a relatively high status position for a job with a mediocre salary. He bought a pretty large house, furnished it with the usual fittings and decorated it with the expected adornment. All of these things that were meant to make him (and the rest of the ‘aristocracy’) superior just made him even more average. And not only was he average, but he was lonely. By the end of the story, was easy to see that Ivan Ilych had never really loved or been loved. He married because it was the right thing to do, he had kids because it was the right thing to do, he didn’t have a sincere friend, and his work always came first. I blame this on Ivan, because in order to surround yourself with genuine people, you must be one yourself, and Ivan Ilych was not.

When first reading the story, looking down upon Ivan Ilych’s funeral, it is easy to pity him. But a man like Ivan does not deserve pity. He ran away from his problems, he convinced himself of his happiness, and faked his friendships. He was selfish, always looking out for himself, and he never worried about anything but the way that he was portrayed in the public. If Ivan would have taken a step back at one point during his life, and reflected as he did right before his death, he may have realized how pitiful his life was. Maybe in his next life he will do things differently.