Three Deaths

Interesting Facts

• In «Three Deaths», Leo Tolstoy explores the theme of death through three different stories, each representing different social strata and approaches to life and death.
• The first story tells of the death of an aristocratic woman, who dies surrounded by luxury but experiences inner emptiness and fear of the inevitable.
• The second story is about the death of a peasant, who dies peacefully and humbly, accepting his fate as part of the natural cycle of life.
• The third story describes the death of a tree, symbolizing the natural and inevitable cycle of life and death that unites all living things.
• Tolstoy uses the contrast between these three deaths to highlight differences in the perception of life and death depending on social status and a person's inner state.
• The work is one of the early examples of Tolstoy's philosophical reflections on the meaning of life and death, which would later become central themes in his writing.