A Fully Glossed Russian Text of “The Death of Ivan Ilich” with Explanatory and Interpretive Annotations
Chapter 2
Проше́дшая исто́рия жи́зни Ива́на Ильича́ была́ са́мая проста́я и обыкнове́нная и са́мая ужа́сная.[1]
Ива́н Ильи́ч у́мер сорока́ пяти́ лет, чле́ном Суде́бной пала́ты. Он был сын чино́вника, сде́лавшего в Петербу́рге по ра́зным министе́рствам и департа́ментам ту карье́ру, кото́рая дово́дит люде́й до того́ положе́ния, в кото́ром хотя́ и я́сно ока́зывается, что исполня́ть каку́ю-нибудь суще́ственную до́лжность они́ не годя́тся, они́ всё-таки по свое́й до́лгой и проше́дшей слу́жбе и свои́м чина́м не мо́гут быть вы́гнаны и потому́ получа́ют вы́думанные фикти́вные места́ и нефикти́вные ты́сячи, от шести́ до десяти́, с кото́рыми они́ и дожива́ют до глубо́кой ста́рости.
Тако́в был та́йный сове́тник, нену́жный член ра́зных нену́жных учрежде́ний, Илья́ Ефи́мович Голови́н.
У него́ бы́ло три сы́на, Ива́н Ильи́ч был второ́й сын. Ста́рший де́лал таку́ю же карье́ру, как и оте́ц, то́лько по друго́му министе́рству, и уж бли́зко подходи́л к тому́ служе́бному во́зрасту, при кото́ром получа́ется э́та ине́рция жа́лованья. Тре́тий сын был неуда́чник. Он в ра́зных места́х везде́ напо́ртил себе́ и тепе́рь служи́л по желе́зным доро́гам: и его́ оте́ц, и бра́тья, и осо́бенно их жёны не то́лько не люби́ли встреча́ться с ним, но без кра́йней необходи́мости и не вспомина́ли о его́ существова́нии. Сестра́ была́ за баро́ном Гре́фом, таки́м же петербу́ргским чино́вником, как и его́ тесть. Ива́н Ильи́ч был le phénix de la famille, как говори́ли.[2] Он был не тако́й холо́дный и аккура́тный, как ста́рший, и не тако́й отча́янный, как меньшо́й. Он был середи́на ме́жду ни́ми – у́мный, живо́й, прия́тный и прили́чный челове́к.[3] Воспи́тывался он вме́сте с меньши́м бра́том в Правове́дении.
Меньшо́й не ко́нчил и был вы́гнан из пя́того кла́сса, Ива́н же Ильи́ч хорошо́ ко́нчил курс. В Правове́дении уже́ он был тем, чем он был впосле́дствии всю свою́ жизнь: челове́ком спосо́бным, ве́село доброду́шным и общи́тельным, но стро́го исполня́ющим то, что он счита́л свои́м до́лгом; до́лгом же он свои́м счита́л всё то, что счита́лось таковы́м наивы́сше поста́вленными людьми́. Он не был заи́скивающим ни ма́льчиком, ни пото́м взро́слым челове́ком, но у него́ с са́мых молоды́х лет бы́ло то, что он, как му́ха к све́ту, тяну́лся к наивы́сше поста́вленным в све́те лю́дям,[4] усва́ивал себе́ их приёмы, их взгля́ды на жизнь и с ни́ми устана́вливал дру́жеские отноше́ния. Все увлече́ния де́тства и мо́лодости прошли́ для него́, не оста́вив больши́х следо́в; он отдава́лся и чу́вственности и тщесла́вию, и - под коне́ц, в вы́сших кла́ссах - либера́льности, но всё в изве́стных преде́лах, кото́рые ве́рно ука́зывало ему́ его́ чу́вство.
Бы́ли в Правове́дении совершены́ им посту́пки, кото́рые пре́жде представля́лись ему́ больши́ми га́достями и внуша́ли ему́ отвраще́ние к самому́ себе́, в то вре́мя, как он соверша́л их; но впосле́дствии, увида́в, что посту́пки э́ти бы́ли соверша́емы и высоко́ стоя́щими людьми́ и не счита́лись и́ми дурны́ми, он не то что призна́л их хоро́шими, но соверше́нно забы́л их и ниско́лько не огорча́лся воспомина́ниями о них.
Вы́йдя из Правове́дения деся́тым кла́ссом[5] и получи́в от отца́ де́ньги на обмундиро́вку, Ива́н Ильи́ч заказа́л себе́ пла́тье у Ша́рмера,[6] пове́сил на брело́ки меда́льку с на́дписью: "respice finem",[7] прости́лся с при́нцем и воспита́телем, пообе́дал с това́рищами у Доно́на[8] и с но́выми мо́дными чемода́ном, бельём, пла́тьем, бри́твенными и туале́тными принадле́жностями и пле́дом, зака́занными и ку́пленными в са́мых лу́чших магази́нах, уе́хал в прови́нцию на ме́сто чино́вника осо́бых поруче́ний губерна́тора, кото́рое доста́вил ему́ оте́ц.
В прови́нции Ива́н Ильи́ч сра́зу устро́ил себе́ тако́е же лёгкое и прия́тное положе́ние, каково́ бы́ло его́ положе́ние в Правове́дении. Он служи́л, де́лал карье́ру и вме́сте с тем прия́тно и прили́чно весели́лся; и́зредка он е́здил по поруче́нию нача́льства в уе́зды, держа́л себя́ с досто́инством и с вы́сшими и с ни́зшими и с то́чностью и неподку́пной че́стностью, кото́рой не мог не горди́ться, исполня́л возло́женные на него́ поруче́ния, преиму́щественно по дела́м раско́льников.[9]
В служе́бных дела́х он был, несмотря́ на свою́ мо́лодость и скло́нность к лёгкому весе́лью, чрезвыча́йно сде́ржан, официа́лен и да́же строг; но в обще́ственных он был ча́сто игри́в и остроу́мен и всегда́ доброду́шен, прили́чен и bon enfant,[10] как говори́л про него́ его́ нача́льник и нача́льница, у кото́рых он был дома́шним челове́ком.
Была́ в прови́нции и связь с одно́й из дам, навяза́вшейся щеголева́тому правове́ду; была́ и моди́стка; бы́ли и попо́йки с прие́зжими фли́гель-адъюта́нтами и пое́здки в да́льнюю у́лицу по́сле у́жина; бы́ло и подслу́живанье нача́льнику и даже жене́ нача́льника, но всё э́то носи́ло на себе́ тако́й высо́кий тон поря́дочности, что всё э́то не могло́ быть называ́емо дурны́ми слова́ми: всё э́то подходи́ло то́лько под ру́брику францу́зского изрече́ния il faut que jeunesse se passe.[11] Всё происходи́ло с чи́стыми рука́ми, в чи́стых руба́шках, с францу́зскими слова́ми и, гла́вное, в са́мом вы́сшем о́бществе, сле́довательно, с одобре́нием высоко́ стоя́щих люде́й.
Так прослужи́л Ива́н Ильи́ч пять лет, и наступи́ла переме́на по слу́жбе. Яви́лись но́вые суде́бные учрежде́ния; ну́жны бы́ли но́вые лю́ди.
И Ива́н Ильи́ч стал э́тим но́вым челове́ком.[12]
Ива́ну Ильичу́ предло́жено бы́ло ме́сто суде́бного сле́дователя, и Ива́н Ильи́ч при́нял его́,[13] несмотря́ на то, что ме́сто э́то бы́ло в друго́й губе́рнии и ему́ на́до бы́ло бро́сить установи́вшиеся отноше́ния и устана́вливать но́вые. Ива́на Ильича́ проводи́ли друзья́, сде́лали гру́ппу, поднесли́ ему́ сере́бряную папиро́сочницу, и он уе́хал на но́вое ме́сто.
Суде́бным сле́дователем Ива́н Ильи́ч был таки́м же comme il faut'ным, прили́чным[14] уме́ющим отделя́ть служе́бные обя́занности от ча́стной жи́зни и вну́шающим о́бщее уваже́ние, каки́м он был чино́вником осо́бых поруче́ний. Сама́ же слу́жба сле́дователя представля́ла для Ива́на Ильича́ гора́здо бо́лее интере́са и привлека́тельности, чем пре́жняя. В пре́жней слу́жбе прия́тно бы́ло свобо́дной похо́дкой в ша́рмеровском вицмунди́ре пройти́ ми́мо трепе́щущих и ожида́ющих приёма проси́телей и должностны́х лиц, зави́дующих ему́, пря́мо в кабине́т нача́льника и сесть с ним за чай с папиро́сою; но люде́й, пря́мо зави́сящих от его́ произво́ла, бы́ло ма́ло. Таки́е лю́ди бы́ли то́лько испра́вники и раско́льники, когда́ его́ посыла́ли с поруче́ниями; и он люби́л учти́во, почти́ по-това́рищески обходи́ться с таки́ми, зави́сящими от него́, людьми́, люби́л дава́ть чу́вствовать, что вот он, могу́щий раздави́ть, дру́жески, про́сто обхо́дится с ними. Таки́х люде́й тогда́ бы́ло ма́ло. Тепе́рь же, суде́бным сле́дователем, Ива́н Ильи́ч чу́вствовал, что все, все без исключе́ния, са́мые ва́жные самодово́льные лю́ди – все у него́ в рука́х и что ему́ сто́ит то́лько написа́ть изве́стные слова́ на бума́ге с заголо́вком, и э́того́ ва́жного, самодово́льного челове́ка приведу́т к нему́ в ка́честве обвиня́емого и́ли свиде́теля, и он бу́дет, е́сли он не захо́чет посади́ть его́, стоя́ть пе́ред ним и отвеча́ть на его́ вопро́сы. Ива́н Ильи́ч никогда́ не злоупотребля́л э́той свое́й вла́стью, напро́тив, стара́лся смягча́ть выраже́ния её; но созна́ние э́той вла́сти и возмо́жность смягча́ть её составля́ли для него́ гла́вный интере́с и привлека́тельность его́ но́вой слу́жбы. В са́мой же слу́жбе, и́менно в сле́дствиях, Ива́н Ильи́ч о́чень бы́стро усво́ил приём отстране́ния от себя́ всех обстоя́тельств, не каса́ющихся слу́жбы, и облече́ния вся́кого са́мого сло́жного де́ла в таку́ю фо́рму, при кото́рой бы де́ло то́лько вне́шним о́бразом отража́лось на бума́ге и при кото́ром исключа́лось соверше́нно его́ ли́чное воззре́ние и, гла́вное, соблюда́лась бы вся тре́буемая форма́льность.[15] Де́ло э́то бы́ло но́вое. И он был оди́н из пе́рвых люде́й, вы́работавших на пра́ктике приложе́ние уста́вов 1864 го́да.
Перейдя́ в но́вый го́род на ме́сто суде́бного сле́дователя, Ива́н Ильи́ч сде́лал но́вые знако́мства, свя́зи, по-но́вому поста́вил себя́ и при́нял не́сколько ино́й тон. Он поста́вил себя́ в не́котором досто́йном отдале́нии от губе́рнских власте́й, а избра́л лу́чший круг из суде́йских и бога́тых дворя́н, жи́вших в го́роде, и при́нял тон лёгкого недово́льства прави́тельством, уме́ренной либера́льности и цивилизо́ванной гражда́нственности. При э́том, ниско́лько не измени́в элега́нтности своего́ туале́та, Ива́н Ильи́ч в но́вой до́лжности переста́л пробрива́ть подборо́док и дал свобо́ду бороде́ расти́, где она хо́чет.
Жизнь Ива́на Ильича́ и в но́вом го́роде сложи́лась о́чень прия́тно: фронди́рующее про́тив губерна́тора о́бщество бы́ло дру́жное и хоро́шее; жа́лованья бы́ло бо́льше, и нема́лую прия́тность в жи́зни приба́вил тогда́ вист, в кото́рый стал игра́ть Ива́н Ильи́ч, име́вший спосо́бность игра́ть в ка́рты ве́село, бы́стро сообража́я и о́чень то́нко, так что в о́бщем он всегда́ был в вы́игрыше.[16]
По́сле двух лет слу́жбы в но́вом го́роде Ива́н Ильи́ч встре́тился с свое́й бу́дущей жено́й. Праско́вья Фёдоровна Ми́хель была́ са́мая привлека́тельная, у́мная, блестя́щая де́вушка того́ кружка́, в кото́ром враща́лся Ива́н Ильи́ч. В числе́ други́х заба́в и отдохнове́ний от трудо́в сле́дователя Ива́н Ильи́ч установи́л игри́вые, лёгкие отноше́ния с Праско́вьей Фёдоровной.
Ива́н Ильи́ч, бу́дучи чино́вником осо́бых поруче́ний, вообще́ танцева́л; суде́бным же сле́дователем он уже́ танцева́л как исключе́ние. Он танцева́л уже́ в том смы́сле, что хоть и по но́вым учрежде́ниям и в пя́том кла́ссе, но е́сли де́ло коснётся та́нцев, то могу́ доказа́ть, что в э́том ро́де я могу́ лу́чше други́х. Так, он изре́дка в конце́ ве́чера танцева́л с Праско́вьей Фёдоровной и преиму́щественно во вре́мя э́тих та́нцев и победи́л Праско́вью Фёдоровну.[17] Она́ влюби́лась в него́. Ива́н Ильи́ч не име́л я́сного, определённого наме́рения жени́ться, но когда́ де́вушка влюби́лась в него́, он за́дал себе́ э́тот вопро́с: "В са́мом де́ле, отчего́ же и не жени́ться?" – сказа́л он себе́.
Деви́ца Праско́вья Фёдоровна была́ хоро́шего дворя́нского ро́да, недурна́; бы́ло ма́ленькое состоя́ньице. Ива́н Ильи́ч мог рассчи́тывать на бо́лее блестя́щую па́ртию, но и э́та была́ па́ртия хоро́шая. У Ива́на Ильича́ бы́ло его́ жа́лованье, у ней, он наде́ялся, бу́дет сто́лько же. Хоро́шее ро́дство; она́ - ми́лая, хоро́шенькая и вполне́ поря́дочная же́нщина.[18] Сказа́ть, что Ива́н Ильи́ч жени́лся потому́, что он полюби́л свою́ неве́сту и нашёл в ней сочу́вствие свои́м взгля́дам на жизнь, бы́ло бы так же несправедли́во, как и сказа́ть то, что он жени́лся потому́, что лю́ди его́ о́бщества одобря́ли э́ту па́ртию. Ива́н Ильи́ч жени́лся по обо́им соображе́ниям.[19] Он де́лал прия́тное для себя́, приобрета́я таку́ю жену́, и вме́сте с тем де́лал то, что наивы́сше поста́вленные люди счита́ли пра́вильным.
Са́мый проце́сс жени́тьбы и пе́рвое вре́мя бра́чной жи́зни, с супру́жескими ла́сками, но́вой ме́белью, но́вой посу́дой, но́вым бельём, до бере́менности жены прошло́ о́чень хорошо́, так что Ива́н Ильи́ч начина́л уже́ ду́мать, что жени́тьба не то́лько не нару́шит того́ хара́ктера жи́зни лёгкой, прия́тной, весёлой и всегда́ прили́чной и одобря́емой о́бществом, кото́рый Ива́н Ильи́ч счита́л сво́йственным жи́зни вообще́, но ещё усугуби́т его́. Но тут, с пе́рвых ме́сяцев бере́менности жены́, яви́лось что́-то тако́е но́вое, неожи́данное, неприя́тное, тяжёлое и неприли́чное, чего́ нельзя́ бы́ло ожида́ть и от чего́ ника́к нельзя бы́ло отде́латься.[20]
Жена́ без вся́ких по́водов, как каза́лось Ива́ну Ильичу́, de gaité de coeur,[21] как он говори́л себе́, начала́ наруша́ть прия́тность и прили́чие жи́зни: она́ без вся́кой причи́ны ревнова́ла его́, тре́бовала от него́ уха́живанья за собо́й, придира́лась ко всему́ и де́лала ему́ неприя́тные и гру́бые сце́ны.
Снача́ла Ива́н Ильи́ч наде́ялся освободи́ться от неприя́тности э́того положе́ния тем са́мым лёгким и прили́чным отноше́нием к жи́зни, кото́рое выруча́ло его́ пре́жде, – он про́бовал игнори́ровать расположе́ние ду́ха жены́, продолжа́л жить по-пре́жнему легко́ и прия́тно: приглаша́л к себе́ друзе́й составля́ть па́ртию, про́бовал сам уезжа́ть в клуб и́ли к прия́телям. Но жена́ оди́н раз с тако́й эне́ргией начала́ гру́быми слова́ми руга́ть его́ и так упо́рно продолжа́ла руга́ть его́ вся́кий раз, когда́ он не исполня́л её тре́бований, очеви́дно, твёрдо реши́вшись не перестава́ть до тех пор, пока́ он не покори́тся, то есть не бу́дет сиде́ть дома и не бу́дет так же, как и она́, тоскова́ть, что Ива́н Ильи́ч ужасну́лся. Он по́нял, что супру́жеская жизнь – по кра́йней ме́ре, с его́ жено́ю – не соде́йствует всегда́ прия́тностям и прили́чию жи́зни, а, напро́тив, ча́сто наруша́ет их, и что поэ́тому необходи́мо огради́ть себя́ от э́тих наруше́ний. И Ива́н Ильи́ч стал оты́скивать сре́дства для э́того. Слу́жба бы́ло одно́, что импони́ровало Праско́вье Фёдоровне, и Ива́н Ильи́ч посре́дством слу́жбы и вытека́ющих из неё обя́занностей стал боро́ться с жено́й, выгора́живая свой незави́симый мир[22]
С рожде́нием ребёнка, попы́тками кормле́ния и разли́чными неуда́чами при э́том, с боле́знями действи́тельными и вообража́емыми ребёнка и ма́тери, в кото́рых от Ива́на Ильича́ тре́бовалось уча́стие, но в кото́рых он ничего́ не мог поня́ть, потре́бность для Ива́на Ильича́ вы́городить себе́ мир вне семьи́ ста́ла ещё бо́лее настоя́тельна.
По ме́ре того́, как жена́ станови́лась раздражи́тельнее и тре́бовательнее, и Ива́н Ильи́ч всё бо́лее и бо́лее переноси́л центр тя́жести свое́й жи́зни в слу́жбу. Он стал бо́лее люби́ть слу́жбу и стал бо́лее честолюби́в, чем он был пре́жде.
О́чень ско́ро, не да́лее как че́рез год по́сле жени́тьбы, Ива́н Ильи́ч по́нял, что супру́жеская жизнь,[23] представля́я не́которые удо́бства в жи́зни, в су́щности есть о́чень сло́жное и тяжёлое дело, по отноше́нию кото́рого, для того́ что́бы исполня́ть свой долг, то есть вести́ прили́чную, одобря́емую о́бществом жизнь, ну́жно вы́работать определённое отноше́ние, как и к слу́жбе.[24]
И тако́е отноше́ние к супру́жеской жи́зни вы́работал себе́ Ива́н Ильи́ч. Он тре́бовал от семе́йной жи́зни то́лько тех удо́бств дома́шнего обе́да, хозя́йки, посте́ли, кото́рые она́ могла дать ему́, и, гла́вное, того́ прили́чия вне́шних форм, кото́рые определя́лись обще́ственным мне́нием. В остально́м же он иска́л весёлой прия́тности и, е́сли находи́л их, был о́чень благода́рен; е́сли же встреча́л отпо́р и ворчли́вость, то то́тчас же уходи́л в свой отде́льный, вы́гороженный им мир слу́жбы и в нём находи́л прия́тности.
Ива́на Ильича́ цени́ли как хоро́шего служа́ку, и че́рез три го́да сде́лали това́рищем прокуро́ра. Но́вые обя́занности, ва́жность их, возмо́жность привле́чь к суду́ и посади́ть вся́кого в остро́г, публи́чность рече́й, успе́х, кото́рый в э́том де́ле име́л Ива́н Ильи́ч, – всё э́то ещё бо́лее привлека́ло его́ к слу́жбе.[25]
Пошли́ де́ти. Жена́ станови́лась все ворчли́вее и серди́тее, но вы́работанные Ива́ном Ильичо́м отноше́ния к дома́шней жи́зни де́лали его́ почти́ непроница́емым для её ворчли́вости.[26]
По́сле семи́ лет слу́жбы в одно́м го́роде Ива́на Ильича́ перевели́ на ме́сто прокуро́ра в другу́ю губе́рнию. Они́ перее́хали, де́нег бы́ло ма́ло, и жене́ не понра́вилось то ме́сто, куда́ они́ перее́хали. Жа́лованье бы́ло хоть и бо́льше пре́жнего, но жизнь была́ доро́же;[27] кро́ме того́, у́мерло дво́е дете́й, и потому́ семе́йная жизнь ста́ла ещё неприя́тнее для Ива́на Ильича́.[28]
Праско́вья Фёдоровна во всех случа́вшихся невзго́дах в э́том но́вом ме́сте ж́ительства упрека́ла м́ужа. Большинство́ предме́тов разгово́ра ме́жду му́жем и жено́й, осо́бенно воспита́ние дете́й, наводи́ло на вопро́сы, по кото́рым бы́ли воспомина́ния ссор, и ссо́ры вся́кую мину́ту гото́вы бы́ли разгора́ться. Остава́лись то́лько те ре́дкие пери́оды влюблённости, кото́рые находи́ли на супру́гов, но продолжа́лись недо́лго. Э́то бы́ли остро́вки, на кото́рые они́ пристава́ли на вре́мя, но пото́м опя́ть пуска́лись в мо́ре затаённой вражды́, выража́вшейся в отчужде́нии друг от дру́га. Отчужде́ние э́то могло́ бы огорча́ть Ива́на Ильича́, е́сли бы он счита́л, что э́то не должно́ так быть, но он тепе́рь уже́ признава́л э́то положе́ние не то́лько норма́льным, но и це́лью всей де́ятельности в семье́. Цель его́ состоя́ла в том, что́бы всё бо́льше и бо́льше освобожда́ть себя́ от э́тих неприя́тностей и прида́ть им хара́ктер безвре́дности и прили́чия; и он достига́л э́того тем, что он всё ме́ньше и ме́ньше проводи́л вре́мя с семьёю, а когда́ был вы́нужден э́то де́лать, то стара́лся обеспе́чивать своё положе́ние прису́тствием посторо́нних лиц.[29] Гла́вное же то, что у Ива́на Ильича́ была́ слу́жба. В служе́бном ми́ре сосредото́чился для него́ весь интере́с жи́зни. И интере́с э́тот поглоща́л его́.[30] Созна́ние свое́й вла́сти, возмо́жности погуби́ть вся́кого челове́ка, кото́рого он захо́чет погуби́ть, ва́жность, да́же вне́шняя, при его́ вхо́де в суд и встре́чах с подчинёнными, успе́х свой пе́ред вы́сшими и подчинёнными и, гла́вное, мастерство́ своё веде́ния дел, кото́рое он чу́вствовал, – всё э́то ра́довало его́ и вме́сте с бесе́дами с това́рищами, обе́дами и ви́стом наполня́ло его́ жизнь. Так что вообще́ жизнь Ива́на Ильича́ продолжа́ла идти́ так, как он счита́л, что она должна́ была́ идти́: прия́тно и прили́чно.
Так про́жил он ещё семь лет. Ста́ршей до́чери бы́ло уже́ шестна́дцать лет, ещё один ребёнок у́мер, и остава́лся ма́льчик-гимнази́ст, предме́т раздо́ра. Ива́н Ильи́ч хоте́л отда́ть его́ в Правове́дение, а Праско́вья Фёдоровна назло́ ему́ отдала́ в гимна́зию. Дочь учи́лась до́ма и росла́ хорошо, ма́льчик то́же учи́лся неду́рно.
- Thus begins the second chapter of the novel, with one of the most famous lines in Russian literature. A literal translation of the Russian would be "The past history of the life of Ivan Il'ich was most simple and ordinary, and most terrible" ("terrible" in the sense of inspiring terror, absolute fear). In the paragraphs that follow, the text is at pains to show that Ivan Ilich was an average, ordinary sort of person. He is middle-aged at his death (in his mid-forties), the middle son of three, an average family man with a medium-sized family and an entirely normal career. ↵
- Here is the first of several foreign-language expressions which occur in the text of the novel, many of which contain particular significance. This one (lit. "the phoenix of the family'') normally means "the member of the family most likely to succeed," but it contains a reference to the phoenix, a mythological bird which was periodically reborn from the ashes of its own destruction. It is interesting to note that some lines below the reference to the phoenix we read: "from early youth he was by nature attracted to people of high station as a fly is drawn to the light, assimilating their ways and views of life and establishing friendly relations with them." In the original, this sentence contains a pun on the Russian word 'svet' ('light,' 'world of high society'). We might translate as follows: "he was, like a fly to the light ('svet'), drawn to the people most highly placed in society ('svet')." In Tolstoi's day, of course, the "light" to which flies were drawn was the light of a burning flame in which the insect is immolated. It is suggested that this flame is society itself, which will burn up Ivan Il'ich, but that, like the phoenix, Ivan Il'ich will somehow transcend this fiery end. ↵
- The list of adjectives describing Ivan Ilich is particularly appropriate to the description of him as an average or composite sort of person. He is intelligent ("umnyj" -- lit. "having a mind") and lively ("zhivoj" -- lit. "alive"), but also pleasant and proper (the characteristics of his older brother and his father). There is a suggestion here that pleasantness and propriety are somehow antithetical to intelligence and aliveness. ↵
- See the preceding note for an explanation of the pun on the word "svet" which this sentence contains ↵
- That is, his starting grade in the Civil Service would be at the tenth rank or higher ↵
- Scharmer's was an expensive tailor. ↵
- Here is another example of the ironic use of cliche formulas. It will turn out that the one thing that Ivan Ilich absolutely refuses to foresee is his own end, his death. ↵
- Donon's was a fashionable restaurant. ↵
- Religious sectarians represented special legal problems in the Russian empire because the Russian Orthodox Church was the officially established national church. Thus, religious differences could often lead to legal disputes or prosecutions. ↵
- French for "a good fellow, a nice guy" (literally, 'a good child'). Beneath the surface of this foreign-language cliche is the suggestion that "good-heartedness" (lit., goodness of soul) is characteristic of a child but not, perhaps, of an adult. We should pay attention to the way in which Ivan Ilich's behavior changes as he grows older. Just as earlier we learned that his sense of shame as a child was gradually overcome so too the positive qualities of good-heartedness and gaiety will gradually be weakened in favor of more grown up attitudes and pastimes ↵
- The French saying is used to mean "Youth will have its fling," "Boys will be boys." It's literal meaning, however, is "youth must happen" and, by implication, at some point stop happening and be lost. Later on in the novel Ivan Ilich will devote a lot of effort to an attempt to recapture that lost youth. ↵
- The 1860s saw the institution of major governmental reforms in Russia. The most celebrated of these was the freeing of the serfs from their legal bondage in 1861. Among the most far-reaching (and the most needed) of the reforms was that which attempted to remodel the Russian judicial system, long marked by incompetence and venality. Ivan Il'ich's ability to conform himself to the proprieties and expectations of this new system is the secret to his continuing career success. He now begins a steady rise in the service of several years duration. ↵
- An "examining magistrate"was a junior official of the court charged with conducting a preliminary enquiry into the circumstances and character of a crime and of the person(s) charged with the commission of the crime. ↵
- Comme il faut is French for "as one ought to be"; the phrase is a favorite descriptor of vapid and insincere characters throughout his career. One thinks, for example, of such characters in War and Peace as Hippolyte Kuragin, completely comme il faut and almost devoid of intelligence, or Alphonse Karlovich Berg, whose most earnest desire is to be the twin of those highly-placed persons who seem to him to represent comme il faut, a feat he tries to accomplish not simply by furnishing his house in the same style as those he admires but by purchasing furnishings which have actually stood in those houses. ↵
- It is interesting to note that Ivan Il'ich's secret of success in his official career resembles very much the attitude which his 'friends' bring to the 'required formality' of attending his funeral. Peter Ivanovich, indeed, does a remarkable job of estranging himself from the unpleasant sensations aroused by his feelings of personal connection with his deceased mentor and of the personal relevance which Ivan Il'ich's countenance and expression seemed to hold for him. Later on, the doctors whom Ivan Ilich consults as his illness progresses will treat him very much as he treats those who come before him in court. ↵
- Like Peter Ivanovich and Schwartz in Chapter One, Ivan Ilich becomes a devotee of card-playing. The skills required to play whist (which will be referred to later as "vint," a variation of the game sometimes called "Russian whist" in English) are similar to those which bring him success in his career: his good humor and playful manner, his ability to calculate quickly and astutely, his knowledge of the rules of the game and the proper forms of play. The thrust here is to connect his "life" (Russ. zhizn') with his "official life" (Russ. sluzhba) and to reduce both to triviality by suggesting that they involve little more than the artificial conventions of a game of cards. ↵
- Ivan Ilich dances as skillfully as he plays cards; as he "won over" Praskovya Fyodorovna with his dancing and by the "playful" relations he established with her, so also does his astute "playing" of cards leave him usually on the "winning" side after a rubber of whist. Playing cards and courting a wife are represented as no more than two varieties of the same activity--and both are equally "pleasant." ↵
- The Russian word "porjadochnaja" suggests a variety of meanings. Clearly the surface significance is that Praskovya Fyodorovna exemplifies "good order" (Russ. porjadok) in the choice of a wife. The word may also suggest that she is selected from a whole row (rjad) of similarly acceptable women. The word "porjadochnyj" may also be applied to physical objects to indicate that the object is well suited to its purpose. Praskovya Fyodorovna will make a "serviceable" wife. In short, the implication is really that there is nothing special or individual about her as far as Ivan Ilich is concerned. ↵
- The word "soobrazhenija" (Engl. "considerations") forms a verbal link to the earlier comment about Ivan Ilich's ability to "quickly and astutely consider" the best way to play a hand of whist. ↵
- Ivan Ilich's relationship with his wife, entered into more because it was a suitable and appropriate match than because he loved her, is portrayed as satisfactory and even pleasant as long as it involves only such material considerations as sexual relations, furniture, dishes, and tablecloths. It is disrupted, however, and becomes unpleasant when Praskovya Fyodorovna becomes pregnant, that is, when a new life enters into the situation. Thus, marriage, too, as Ivan Ilich wishes it to be, is suggested to be a social form in which there is no place for life. By now it has already become clear that the story of the life of Ivan Ilich is really the story of his steady approach toward death. In the midst of his successful "life," real life is already a devastating threat. Later in this same passage the pregnancy is said to introduce something "new, unexpected, unpleasant, depressing (Russ. 'tjazheloe' = 'heavy, serious'), and unseemly" came into his life, "from which there was no way of escape." All of these adjectives apply equally well to the illness from which Ivan Ilich will soon begin to suffer. This is especially true of the adjective 'tjazheloe,' which is part of a familiar and standard expression when applied to disease (Russ. 'tjazhelaja bolezn'''). In the same way that Praskovya Fyodorovna's pregnancy seems to be an intimation of Ivan Ilich's illness, so also her behavior while pregnant pre-figures that of her husband after he has become ill. Thus, the displays of unseemliness and unpleasantness, the unreasonableness, the vulgar scenes which will mark Ivan Ilich's behavior later on are all pre-figured here in the behavior of his pregnant wife. One must conclude, it seems, that just as there is a relationship between Ivan Ilich's official and personal life and the symbols of death, so too is there a relationship between the illness which leads to the end of that "life" and the discomborts associated with the genuine new life stirring within Praskovya Fyodorovna's womb. ↵
- A French phrase used to mean "out of sheer wantonness" or, more vulgarly, "for the hell of it." Literally, the phrase means "from gaiety of heart" and, consequently, seems to suggest the possibility that Praskovya Fyodorovna's pregnancy and its attendant symptoms, since they represent new life, should rather be a cause of happiness than of irritation. Here is still another example of a meaning beneath the meaning of these conventional phrases, suggesting (rather specifically, since she is pregnant) that there is another life beneath the superficial life of these conventional people. ↵
- Having discovered that the pleasantness and propriety of his life has been badly injured by the behavior of his pregnant wife Ivan Ilich first tries to ignore her outbursts and demands, but when this fails he withdraws into his work in order to protect his "independence." Thus, he turns away from his family life to the still more artificial world of his life at work. Maude's translation here does not capture the organizing metaphor of this passage. Where Maude says "entrench himself" the Russian has "barricade himself" (Russ. 'ogradit' sebja'), and where Maude translates "secure his own independence" Tolstoi's text has "fence off his own independent world" (Russ. 'vygorazhivaja svoj nezavisimyj mir'). Thus, the Russian text suggests the motif of voluntary separation by walls or barriers, a process of self-enclosure, which is similar to the image created by the heavy black border of the funeral announcement and the framing edge of Ivan Ilich's coffin in chapter one. Some lines below the Maude translation does finally make the connection with "if he met with antagonism and querulousness he retired at once into his separate fenced-off (Russ. 'otdel'nyj vygorozhennyj im') world of official duties (italics mine)." Even here, though, Maude's translation refers to "his fenced-off world" while the Russian has "the world fenced-off by him" which makes Ivan Ilich responsible for the deliberate act of closing himself off from that which irritates him. Thus it is that in his desire to escape from the unpleasantness of his personal life he more and more embraces the relative emptiness and artificiality of his official life. In thinking to protect himself by escaping the unpleasantness, he always accomplishes this result by isolating himself, by building a metaphorical fence around himself. ↵
- The narrator's preference for the adjective supruzheskaja ("spousal," from "suprug/supruga," spouse) suggests that Ivan Ilich sees his relationship with Praskovya Fyodorovna as one in which each of them is playing, and is bound to play, a certain role, that of spouse, rather than as a relationship between two authentic individuals. One might say that Ivan Ilich's strategy for defense against the importunities of his wife is to escape the role of spouse by taking refuge in the role of government official. The inherently inauthentic nature of this "play-acting" at life is most strongly suggested in Chapter Eight where the family discusses their imminent outing to the theater to see the celebrated actress Sarah Bernhardt perform. ↵
- The word "opredelennyj" (as here in "opredelennoe otnoshenie," Eng., "a definite (or "defined") relationship) occurs frequently in the story. It is suggestive that it derives from the word "predel," Eng., "limit," "boundary" and thereby resonates with the various images of borders, edges, barriers, enclosures, curtains, screens and so on in which the story abounds. To say that there is need for a defined relationship suggests that every aspect of life has its known and desirable limits, its rules describing the types of behavior which are and are not permitted within that aspect. Extending this principle logically we come soon to the conclusion that life itself is just such a limited affair, and Ivan Ilich's hope to protect his "independent world" is illusory. ↵
- Note the use of the same verb "privlekat'/privlech'" ("to draw, attract") to express the idea of Ivan Ilich's gratification of being able to "draw" anyone into court (or into prison) and his gratification with all aspects of his new duties being able to "draw" Ivan Ilich himself into his work at the office even more than before. Thus again the idea of Ivan Ilich's life becoming ever more a voluntarily accepted decision to lock himself away from the world. ↵
- The image of being surrounded by solid walls is picked up yet again in the use of the word "nepronicaemyj" ('impenetrable'). ↵
- Here is a prime example of the ambiguity so often reflected in the style of the narrative: is it simply that the cost of living is more expensive because of moving to a larger town, or is it that because of his promotion Ivan Ilich's real life has become more dear because it is slipping away ever farther into the false life of his increased official duties. ↵
- Just as the birth of a child created unpleasantness in Ivan Ilich's life, so also does their death. Clearly, if these ineluctable evidences of real life--birth and death--are both unpleasant, it must be that Ivan Ilich's "family life" is somehow false, not real life at all; his family life is rather a phenomenon in which the elements of real life have no appropriate place. ↵
- Making the point yet again, Tolstoy's Russian uses the phrase "postoronnie lica" (lit. 'persons ranged along the sides, rather than in the center') to suggest once more the image of Ivan Ilich surrounded by a protective screen. Ivan Ilich thinks always to fence the offending behavior out, never realizing that he is also, necessarily, fencing himself in. ↵
- The completeness of his isolation in his official life is mainly missed by Maude's translation "The whole interest of his life now centered in the official world and that interest absorbed him" [italics mine] but is vividly suggested by Tolstoy's use of the idiomatic expression "And that interest swallowed him," [italics mine] which Tolstoy offers as a separate, brief, and powerful sentence. ↵
The past history of the life of Ivan Ilich
was most simple and ordinary and most terrible
Ivan Ilich died at forty-five years
a member of the House of Judges
He was the son of a government official
who had made in Petersburg in various ministries and departments
the sort of career which leads people to the kind of position
in which although it is quite clear
that they are not suitable to fulfill any kind of substantive responsibility
they nonetheless because of their long and past service and their rank
cannot be dismissed
and therefore receive invented, fictional positions
and non-fictional thousands, from six to ten
with which they live on to deep old age
Such was Privy Councillor
an unnecessary member of various unnecessary institutions
Ilya Efimovich Golovin
He had three sons
Ivan Ilich was the second son
The elder made the same sort of career as the father
only in a different ministry
and was already closely approaching that age of service
at which that salary inertia sets in
The third son was a failure
He in various positions had everywhere spoiled (things) for himself
and now served on the railroads
and his father, and brothers, and especially their wives not only did not like to meet with him
but absent extreme necessity would not even recall his existence
(Ivan Ilich's) sister was married to Baron Gref
the same sort of Petersburg official
as his father-in-law
Ivan Ilich was "le phenix de la famille," as (people) said
He was not so cold and precise as the elder
and not so wild as the younger
He was the mid-point between them
an intelligent, lively (lit. "living"), pleasant, and proper person
He had been educated together with the younger brother in the School of Law
The younger didn't finish
and was expelled from the fifth class
Ivan Ilich, on the other hand, completed his course well
In the School of Law he was already that
which he continued to be (lit., was) later on for his whole life
a person (who was) capable, gaily good-natured, and sociable
but strictly fulfilling that which he considered his duty
his duty, then, he, considered (to be) everything
that was considered such by the most highly placed people
He was not one who ingratiates himself
neither as a boy nor thereafter as a grown-up person
but it was (characteristic) of him from (his) earliest years
that he, like a fly to the light
was drawn to (lit., "pulled himself to") the people most highly placed in society
(he) assimilated (lit., made his own) their ways (of behaving), their views on life
and with them he established friendly relations
All the distractions of childhood and youth went by for him
not having left large traces
he gave himself up both to sensuality and vanity
and--near the end, in the higher classes--to liberalism
but everything within known limits
which his instinct (lit., feeling) correctly pointed out to him
In the School of Law were committed by him acts
which formerly seemed to him (to be) great abominations
and inspired him (with) revulsion toward himself
at the time that he committed them
but later on
having seen that these acts were committed
also by persons of high standing
and were not considered by them (to be) bad
he did not exactly admit them (to be) good
but he did completely forget them
and did not at all feel bitterly troubled by recollections of them
Having graduated from the School of Law entitled to the tenth rank
and having received from his father money for outfitting himself
Ivan Ilich ordered for himself clothes at Scharmer's
hung on his watch chain a medallion with the inscription
Latin for "foresee the end," a common motto for lawyers whose job it is to guide their clients to the desired result.
bade farewell to the prince (i.e., the patron of the school) and (his) professor
dined with his schoolmates at Donon's
and with new, fashionable suitcase, linen (i.e., shirts, underclothes), clothing, shaving and grooming appurtenances, and a traveling rug
(which had been) ordered and purchased in the very best stores
(he) departed for the provinces to a post as an official for special services to the governor (of the province)
which his father had obtained (for him)
In the provinces Ivan Ilich at once set up for himself
the same easy and pleasant situation
as had been his situation in the School of Law
He served (i.e., did his work in the government service), made a career and together with that pleasantly and with propriety amused himself
occasionally he would go on a commission for his chief into the (surrounding) districts
(he) conducted himself with dignity
both with (his) superiors and with (his) inferiors
and also with exactitude and incorruptible honesty
(of) which he could not but be proud
(he) fulfilled the placed-upon-him commissions
primarily on matters (having to do with) the (religious) sectarians
In official matters he was
despite his youth and inclination to light amusement
extraordinarily restrained, official, and even strict
but in social (matters) he was often playful and witty
and always good-hearted, decent, and a "bon enfant"
as said about him his chief and (his chief's) wife
in whose home he was like one of the family (lit., "a person of the house")
(There) was in the province also a connection (i.e., an affair) with one of the (married) ladies
(who) had involved herself (with) the elegant jurist
(there) was also a seamstress
(there) were also drinking bouts with visiting young officers
and trips to a distant street after a late supper
(there) was also obseqious behavior to his chief and even to the wife of his chief
but all of this carried on itself such a high tone of proper behavior
that all of this could not be named by bad words
all of this came only under the rubric of the French saying il faut que jeunesse se passe
Everything proceeded with clean hands
in clean shirts
with French words
and, the main thing, in the very highest society
consequently, with the approval of people of high standing
So served Ivan Ilich (for) five years
and a (major) change occurred (lit., invaded, attacked, overcame) throughout the service
(There) appeared new judicial institutions
new people were needed
And Ivan Ilich became this new person
To Ivan Ilich was offered the position of examining magistrate
and Ivan Ilich accepted it
despite the fact that this position was in a different province
and for him it was necessary to throw off (his) established relationships and establish new ones
Ivan Ilich was seen off by his friends
a group portrait was taken
he was presented with a silver cigarette case
and he left for his new position
As an examining magistrate Ivan Ilich was
the very same sort of comme il faut, decorous (person)
(who) knows how to separate (his) official duties from (his) private life
and (who) inspires general respect
as he had been as an official for special services
The very work of an examining magistrate
seemed for Ivan Ilich (to be) of much greater interest and attractiveness
than (his) former (work)
In (his) former work
(it) had been pleasant
(with) a free (and easy) gait in (his) uniform from Scharmer's
to bypass the trembling and awaiting-a-reception petitioners
and the officials who envied him
directly into the office of the chief
and to sit down with him over tea and a cigarette
but of people, directly dependent on his personal whim, there were few
Such people were only the policemen and sectarians (whom he encountered)
when he was sent with special instructions
and he liked to interact politely, almost in a comradely way
with such, dependent on him, people
liked to let (them) feel
that here is he
who could crush (them)
interacting with them in a friendly, simple way
Of such people at that time (there) were few
Now, however, as an examining magistrate
Ivan Ilich felt
that everyone, everyone without exception
the most important self-satisfied people
everyone (was) in his hands
and that he need only to write known words on paper with (an official) heading
and this important, self-satisfied person
will be brought (lit. they will bring) to him in the capacity of an accused or a witness
and he will
if he (i.e., Ivan Ilich) will not wish to seat him
will (have) to stand before him and answer his questions
Ivan Ilich never abused this power of his
on the contrary, (he) tried to soften the expression of it
but the consciousness of this power
and the possibility of softening it
comprised for him the chief interest and attractiveness of his new work
In the work itself
especially in the interrogations
Ivan Ilich very quickly mastered the device
of estranging from himself all circumstances not (directly) concerning (his) official duties
and of drafting out of any (even the) most complex matter in such form
wherein the matter would only in its external form be reflected on paper
and in which (form) would be excluded completely his personal view
and, the main thing, would be observed all of the required formality
This (way of) doing (things) was new
And he was one of the first people
who (successfully) worked out in practice the application of the (reformed) codes of 1864
Having moved to a new town to (take up his) new post of examining magistrate
Ivan Ilich made new acquaintanceships, connections
set himself up in a new manner
and adopted a somewhat different tone
He set himself up at a certain dignified distance from the local authorities
and selected the best circle of judicial (officials) and wealthy gentry-folk
who lived in the town
and adopted a tone of easy-going dissatisfaction with the government
(a tone) of moderate liberalism and civilized civic-mindedness
at the same time
while not having changed the elegance of his manner of grooming
Ivan Ilich in his new position stopped shaving his chin
and allowed his beard to grow as it wished
The life of Ivan Ilich also in the new town
put itself together very pleasantly
the (local) society, which was displaying its dis-satisfaction with the governor
was friendly and respectable (lit., good)
(his) salary was larger
and not a little pleasantness in life (was) added then (by) whist
which Ivan Ilich began to play
who (i.e., Ivan Ilich) had the ability to play cards with good humor
considering (the play of each hand) quickly and very astutely
so that in general he always was on the winning (side)
After two years of service in the new town
Ivan Ilich met his future wife
Praskovya Fyodorovna Mikhel was the most attractive, intelligent, brilliant girl of the circle
in which Ivan Ilich moved (lit. turned himself about)
Among the other amusements and relaxations from the labors of the examining magistrate
Ivan Ilich established playful, easy-going relations (also) with Praskovya Fyodorovna
Ivan Ilich, while he was an official of special services, had in general participated in dancing
as an examining magistrate, however, he now (lit., already) danced as an exception
He danced now in the sense, that
even though (he was serving) both in the new institutions and in the fifth rank
but if we're speaking of (lit. if the matter concerns) dances
then I can prove that in this area I can (do) better than others
So he occasionally at the end of an evening would dance with Praskovya Fyodorovna
and (it was) mainly during these dances (that) he won (the heart of) Praskovya Fyodorovna
She fell in love with him
Ivan Ilich did not have a clear, definite intention to get married
but after the girl fell in love with him
he put to himself this question
Indeed, why NOT get married
said he to himself
The maiden Praskovya Fyodorovna was of a good gentry family, not bad looking
(there) was a small bit of property
Ivan Ilich could have counted on a more brilliant match
but even this (one) was a good match
Ivan Ilich had his salary
she, he hoped, would have as much again
A good family
she is a dear, pretty, and fully acceptable woman
To say that Ivan Ilich got married
because he had fallen in love with his bride
and found her sympathetic to his own views on life
would be just as inapt
as also to say that he got married
because the people of his society approved the match
Ivan Ilich got married on the basis of both considerations
he had done (something) pleasant for himself
(in) gaining such a wife
and together with that had done that, which the most highly placed persons considered correct
And (so) Ivan Ilich got married
The very process of the wedding and the first period of married life
with (its) spousal caresses, new furniture, new dishes, new linen
up to the pregnancy of the wife
passed very well
such that Ivan Ilich had begun already to think
that marriage not only would not destroy
that character of a life (which is) easy, pleasant, gay, and always proper and approved by society
which (character) Ivan Ilich considered natural to life in general
but (that marriage) would improve it still (more)
But here, from the first months of the pregnancy of (his) wife
(there) appeared something so new, unexpected, unpleasant, burdensome (lit. heavy), and improper
(something) which had been impossible to expect
and from which it was completely impossible to separate oneself
The wife without any (good) reasons
as it seemed to Ivan Ilich, de gaité de coeur
as he told himself
began to ruin the pleasantness and propriety of life
she without any reason was jealous (concerning) him
demanded from him solicitousness for herself
became irritated at everything
and made him unpleasant and coarse scenes
At first Ivan Ilich hoped to free himself
from the unpleasantness of this position
by that same easy(-going) and proper relationship toward life
which had helped him before
he tried to ignore the mood of (his) wife
continued to live as before easily and pleasantly
invited to his place friends to make up a foursome
tried (by) himself to go out to (his) club or to (visit) acquaintances
But (his) wife one time with such energy
began (with) coarse words to scold him
and so stubbornly continued to scold him every time
until he fulfilled (lit., as long as he did not fulfill) her demands
obviously having firmly decided not to stop
until he submitted (lit., as long as he would not submit)
that is, until he stayed at home (with her) and was as depressed as she was
that Ivan Ilich was horrified
He came to understand that married (lit., spousal) life
at least with his wife
would not always conduce to the pleasantnesses and propriety of life
but, on the contrary, would often destroy them
and that therefore it was necessary to protect himself (lit., fence himself off) from these destructions
And Ivan Ilich began to search out means for (doing) this
(His) work was the one thing
that prevailed (upon) Praskovya Fyodorovna
and Ivan Ilich using (lit., by means of) his work and the flowing-out-of-it obligations
began to fight (lit., to do battle) with (his) wife
defending (lit., fencing in) his independent world
With the birth of the child, the attempts at nursing (it), and the various failures (going) along with that
with the illnesses actual and imagined of the child and the mother
in which from Ivan Ilich was demanded participation
but in which he could not understand anything
the requirement for Ivan Ilich to enclose for himself a world outside of the family became still more insistent
To the (same) degree that (his) wife was becoming more irritable and demanding
(so) also did Ivan Ilich ever more and more transfer the center of gravity of his life into his work (at the office)
He began to like his work (still) more
and he became (still) more ambitious (lit., fond of honors, recognition)
than he had been previously
Very soon, not farther than a year after the wedding
Ivan Ilich came to understand that married (lit., spousal) life
while offering certain conveniences in life
in essence is a very complex and weighty matter
in connection with which
in order to fulfill one's duty
that is, to conduct a proper, approved-by-society life
it is necessary to work out a definite relationship, just as with (one's) work
And such a relationship to spousal life Ivan Ilich worked out for himself
He demanded from family life
only those conveniences of dinner at home, a housekeeper, bed, which it (family life) could give him
and, the main thing, that propriety of external forms, which were defined by social opinion
In (all) the rest (of it) he sought happy pleasantness
and, if (he) found them, was very grateful
if on the other hand (he) met resistance and grumbling
then at once (he) would go off into his own separate, fenced-off-by-him world of (his official) work
and in it (he) would find pleasantness
(They) valued Ivan Ilich as a good worker
and in three years (they) made (him) an assistant prosecutor
New responsibilities, the importance of them, the possibility of drawing into court and putting anyone into prison, the publicness of his speeches
the success which Ivan Ilich had in this activity
all (of) this still more drew him towards (his official) work
(More) children came
The wife became ever more querulous and angry
but the worked-out-by-Ivan-Ilich relationships to (his) domestic life
made him almost inpenetrable for her querulousness
After seven years of service in one town
(They) transferred Ivan Ilich to the position of (chief) prosecutor in another province
They (i.e., Ivan Ilich and family) moved
there was (too) little money
and the wife was not pleased by the place where they moved
(Ivan Ilich's) salary even though it was more than his former (one)
but life (i.e., the cost of living) was more dear (i.e., expensive)
besides that, two of the children died
and for that reason family life became still more unpleasant for Ivan Ilich
For (lit., in) all the discontents which occurred in this new place Praskovya Fyodorovna blamed (her) husband
The majority of the subjects of conversation between husband and wife
particularly the upbringing of the children
culminated in questions, concerning which (there) were memories of quarrels
and (such) quarrels every minute were ready to flame up
(There) remained only those rare periods of lovingness
which would (occasionally) come over the spouses
but would last not long
These were little islands
to which they would come for a time
but then again (they) would launch themselves into the sea of hidden enmity
(which) would express itself in (their) alienation from one another
This estrangement might have embittered Ivan Ilich
if he had considered that this ought not to be so
but he (by) now acknowledged this position (i.e., his estrangement) not only (as) normal
but even (as) the goal of all (his) activity in the family
His goal consisted in this
ever more and more to free himself from these unpleasantnesses and to give them a character of harmlessness and propriety
and he achieved this
by this, that he ever less and less would spend time with the family
and when (he) was forced to do that
then (he) would try to secure his position by the presence of outsiders
The main thing, though, (was) that Ivan Ilich had (his official) work
In the world of his work was concentrated for him all the interest of life
And that interest swallowed him
The consciousness of his power
of the possibility to ruin any person whom he might want to ruin
(his) importance, even the surface (importance), during his entry into court and (in) meetings with inferiors
his success before superiors and inferiors
and, the main thing, his masterliness (in) conducting cases, of which he was well aware (lit., which he felt)
all this gave him joy and together with conversations with his colleagues, dinners (out), and whist filled up his life
Thus (it was) that in general the life of Ivan Ilich continued to go on in the way
that (lit., as) he considered that it ought to go on: pleasantly and with propriety
Thus he lived for seven more years
The elder daughter was already sixteen
one more child had died
and (that) left a boy in high school, (who was) a subject of discord
Ivan Ilich had wanted to enroll him in (lit., give him over to) the School of Law
but Praskovya Fyodorovna to spite him had enrolled him in the high school
The daughter studied at home and was growing up well
the boy also studied not badly
