The doctor smiled with a contemptuous affability that said: "What's to be done? These sick people do have foolish fancies of that kind, but we must forgive them."
Explanation:
In these lines, we learn about the doctor's reaction to Ivan Ilyich's thoughts and opinions. Ivan believes that the medicine is not making him better, and instead, he tries other remedies, such as keeping his legs up. However, when the doctor hears about this, he does not take any of his opinions seriously. Instead, he shows contempt and smiles in a way that shows he thinks Ivan's behaviour is foolish and pointless, but should be tolerated. This shows that the doctor does not really care about his patient.
