The paper begins by defining the philosophical terms of existentialism and essentialism and how they are reflected in literature
in general. It then moves on to explain the thesis of the paper - in Tolstoy's "The Death of Ivan Illyich" and Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler", the characteristics of the two philosophies are most noticeable in the characters Ivan and Gerasim (Tolstoy) and Hedda and George (Ibsen). The paper provides evidence from "Hedda Gabler" that the character George is an
essentialist, whereas Hedda contrasts as an
existentialist in an essentialist society, which leads her to commit suicide, a very existential action. The paper shows that in Tolstoy's work, the character Ivan Illyich is an existentialist in an existentialist society who at his end transforms into an essentialist.