Death is central in Leo Tolstoy’s story “Three Deaths.” To start the text, we are introduced to Vasili’s wife, who is referred to as an invalid who wants to travel abroad for her health. Vasili’s wife shows defiance and stubbornness in light of her pain and inevitable death, which is why she insists on traveling despite her condition.  Her obvious pain is overlooked by those around her, including her husband and doctor when they leave her unattended. Included in this is an air of observance, which is exemplified by Aksuisha and Masha,  who walk by her carriage only to see how Vasili’s wife is close to death. In this instance, the acknowledgement of death by characters who are not experiencing it view it with fascination or disregard. Later on in the text, we meet Seryoha, a driver. He visits the driver’s room to see Khveodor, whom he refers to as Uncle Khveodor. As Eva pointed out in her analysis, other drivers and the station owners viewed Khveodor’s poor condition of bad coughing and intense weakness as an opportunity to take advantage of him–as Seryoha did by asking for new boots to replace his worn out ones– or tolerate his condition altogether.

In regard to unfulfilled wishes, Vasili’s wife never makes it to Italy but dies at her home, while Khveodor’s wish of a gravestone is not honored by Seryoha at the ending of the story. This point contradicts the story’s direct acknowledgement of death by providing an equally direct silence by leaving the deceased unanswered in their requests.

One final point about death in this story:

Tolstoy wants to point out the universality of death by depicting the death of an upperclass woman and that of lower-class driver. In this way, he shows how the treatment of all people in ill health or after their death only differ in their execution.

This is one last point I wanted to make about the title being “Three Deaths,” with the title referring to two people dying and the death of a tree. In a way, Tolstoy may refer to the last death as that of the loss of morals or of humanity in the symbol of a fallen tree– although this may only refer to Seryoha (as he was reluctant to fulfill Khveodor’s last wish in a timely manner of a gravestone). What do you guys think?