![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() For Nikolai, ultimate happiness means owning a secluded estate in the countryside. Ivan thinks that Nikolai’s version of happiness is selfish, misguided, and delusional. But, in the end, Ivan is the one who is unhappy, suggesting that the key to a fulfilling life is actually subjective-and perhaps even impossible to define. Instead, he argues that one should embrace suffering and pursue the most meaningful life possible. Ivan, however, thinks that settling into a happy life in this way is selfish and delusional, since it merely insulates a person from the realities of the outside world. Most of the story is a frame tale (a story within a story) in which Ivan and tells his friends Alekhin and Burkin about his brother Nikolai, who spent decades of his life saving up for a country estate where he could live an easy, comfortable lifestyle. In “Gooseberries,” Ivan Ivanych is highly skeptical of those who pursue happy, comfortable lives-he believes that suffering is the precursor to a meaningful life, and that chasing happiness is the wrong path because it leads to stagnation and complacency. ![]()
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