Volume V Special Issue IV October 2025

Name of Author :

Title of the paper :

Abstract: Set against the moral and social backdrop of 19th century Russia, Leo Tolstoys famous short story Three Deaths 1859 presents a unique meditation on mortality through the deaths of a wealthy lady, a coachman, and a tree. This paper seeks to explore how Tolstoy uses these three parallel deaths to critique artificiality, affirm humility, and elevate nature as a moral guide. Employing an ethical and ecocritical framework, the study analyzes the contrasting attitudes of the aristocratic lady, the humble coachman, and the silent tree to demonstrate how their deaths symbolize stages of resistance, acceptance, and reconciliation. The findings suggest that Tolstoy places greater moral weight on humility and natural truth than on privilege or denial. Ultimately, the paper argues that Three Deaths functions both as an ethical parable and an ecological allegory, proposing that peace in death and authenticity in life emerge only through honesty, simplicity, and harmony with nature.

Keywords : Leo Tolstoy, Three Deaths, eco criticism, mortality, ethics, ecology, humility, reconciliation with nature

DOI :

Page Number : 18-22