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Select the correct answer.
Read these excerpts from Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich:

She went out and returned with a candle. He lay there panting heavily, like a man who has run a thousand yards, and stared upwards at her with a fixed look.

"What is it, Jean?"

"No...o.. .thing. I upset it." ("Why speak of it? She won't understand," he thought.)

And in truth she did not understand. She picked up the stand, lit his candle, and hurried away to see another visitor off. When she came back he still lay on his back, looking upwards.

"What is it? Do you feel worse?"

"Yes."

She shook her head and sat down.

"Do you know, Jean, I think we must ask Leshchetitsky to come and see you here."

This meant calling in the famous specialist, regardless of expense. He smiled malignantly and said "No." She remained a little longer and then went up to him and kissed his forehead.

While she was kissing him he hated her from the bottom of his soul and with difficulty refrained from pushing her away.

"Good night. Please God you'll sleep."

"Yes."

. . .

She comes in, kisses her husband, and at once proceeds to prove that she has been up a long time already, and only owing to a misunderstanding failed to be there when the doctor arrived.

Ivan Ilyich looks at her, scans her all over, sets against her the whiteness and plumpness and cleanness of her hands and neck, the gloss of her hair, and the sparkle of her vivacious eyes. He hates her with his whole soul. And the thrill of hatred he feels for her makes him suffer from her touch.

In the excerpts, Tolstoy repeats the image of Praskovya Fedorovna kissing Ivan Ilyich and his hatred of her. What important fact is brought out in this use of repetition?

A.
Ivan Ilyich regrets marrying Praskovya Fedorovna and wasting his life when he could have married for love.
B.
Ivan Ilyich knows that Praskovya Fedorovna is pretending to be kind because she's glad that he is dying.
C.
Ivan Ilyich recognizes and hates the false propriety in Praskovya Fedorovna, a false nature that he himself once had.
D.
Ivan Ilyich cannot see that Praskovya Fedorovna genuinely cares about his health because he hates her.

Respuesta :

From these excerpts from Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich, the important fact that is brought out in this use of repetition is, C. Ivan Ilyich recognizes and hates the false propriety in Praskovya Fedorovna, a false nature that he himself once had. So it does not mean he really hates his wife, but rather the fact that she is having such good manners when he feels he could actually die. He himself also once had this kind of proper politeness, and now that he is ill he feels is not true.

The correct answer is B. Praskovya Fedorovna is portrayed by Tolstoi as the unsympathetic wife of Ivan Illyich. This woman is seen as a person who does not care about her husband. She is an egocentric person and only seeks for her own good; she does not think about the wellness of her dying husband, so Ivan knows that she acts in an agreeable way only because she is happy to know that he is dying, so she won’t have to keep sharing her life with him. This is the main reason why Ivan hates her and that is why Tolstoi keeps repeating the feeling that he has for her.  

Answer A is not correct because the marriage gave Ivan a sort of personal satisfaction plus he considered that this was the best decision to make; thus, he does not regret his decision, even though knew he was never in love with Praskovya. Nevertheless, he is okay with the fact that both of them do not share the same points of view although he really hates her wife.

Answer C is not correct because Ivan never had a propriety although, at some point, he has some reflections about the way in which he is living his life and how things changed for him. Nonetheless, he never had this kind of principles nor Praskovya.

Answer D is not correct because, actually ,Praskovya does not care about him and she is only acting agreeable with him because he is dying, so the fact that Ivan hates her does not have anything to do with his ignorance about the situation.  


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