What opinion about russian society does leo tolstoy express in this excerpt from the death of ivan ilyich? the awful, terrible act of his dying was, he could see, reduced by those about him to the level of a casual, unpleasant, and almost indecorous incident (as if someone entered a drawing room defusing an unpleasant odour) and this was done by that very decorum which he had served all his life long. he saw that no one felt for him, because no one even wished to grasp his position. only gerasim recognized it and pitied him. and so ivan ilyich felt at ease only with him. he felt comforted when gerasim supported his legs (sometimes all night long) and refused to go to bed, saying: "don't you worry, ivan ilyich. i'll get sleep enough later on," or when he suddenly became familiar and exclaimed: "if you weren't sick it would be another matter, but as it is, why should i grudge a little trouble? " gerasim alone did not lie; everything showed that he alone understood the fa