Life is not always as it seems In “The Death of Evan Ilyich,” the author Leo Tolstory is trying to instruct his reader about the life. Ivan didn’t really know what marriage was all about until it was too late. Ivan’s wife got revenge on her husband at the end of the book. Peter was not the friend Ivan thought her was. There is usually one person in the world that cares about someone the most. Ivan is trying to tell his readers that marriage is not always what people think it is. When Ivan and Praskovya, his wife were going out he didn’t really think about marrying her. When Praskovya fell in love with Ivan he thought, “Really, w