"To say that Ivan Ilych married because he fell in love with Praskovya Fedorovna and found that she sympathized with his views o
f life would be as incorrect as to say that he married because his social circle approved of the match. He was swayed by both these considerations: the marriage gave him personal satisfaction, and at the same time it was considered the right thing by the most highly placed of his associates. So Ivan Ilych got married." What does this quote tell you about the function of marriage in Ivan’s life? How would you compare the concept of marriage in this book with that of Austen’s novel?
To start with Jane Austen´s Pride & Prejudice, which is much more than a love story. Jane Austen clearly shows her ideas on marriage in a Male-centered England, where the relation between money and marriage is quite clear. This is particularly obvious in the mother-daughter relationship in which the mother pressures the daughter into marriage because of financial profits.
In the Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy there is no aversive element in the decision of Ilych to marry Fedorovna, therefore it is a more natural and almost casual act.
