The novel starts with the death of Ivan Ilyich which gets followed by the story of his life since his birth by a narrator.
• Ivan is born.
• He goes to a law school in his youth.
• He starts his career as a legal officer in a province.
• He moves to another province where he meets Praskovya Fedorovna and marries her.
• Their relationship turns sour when Praskovya is pregnant and gives birth to their first child Lisa.
• He goes away from his family and gave attention only to his official works.
• Along with his family, he moved to another province for a better job.
• Many of their children die and their family relations get worse.
• Vasya is born.
• He left his work and moved with his family to live at a relative’s house at the age of forty when he feels that injustice had been done with him.
• He gets depressed and searches for a job at St. Petersburg which can give him a high amount of salary.
• After getting a better job and finding a good house he starts to decorate it.
• He gets injured in his side while decorating the house and visits a doctor when his wife insists on him to do so.
• He visits many doctors, but none was able to help him out. His pain increases which irritate and suffocates him. He concludes that death is near to his life.