Chapter 28 - Medical Science

Summary

This chapter contextualizes Tolstoy’s literary production within the medical sciences of the second half of the nineteenth century, when the field changed rapidly in the wake of scientific discoveries, such as germ theory, a reorganization of the medical institutions, and Alexander II’s liberal reforms. The chapter addresses Tolstoy’s experience of and views on medical procedures and institutions of his time, as well as the writer’s stance toward medical theories and their proponents, including Cesare Lombroso). It shows how the writer’s ambivalent relationship with medicine and doctors is staged in his oeuvre. Works analyzed include War and Peace, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, and Resurrection.