Rusanov and Kostoglotov respond to therapy and are eventually discharged; other patients remain in the ward, get worse, or are sent home to die. In the end Kostoglotov boards a train to the site of his "eternal" exile: "The long awaited happy life had come, it had come! But Oleg somehow did not recognize it."
Solzhenitzyn himself was released from a labor camp in early 1953, just before Stalin's death, and was exiled to a village in Kazakhstan. While incarcerated, he had been operated on for a tumor, but was not told the diagnosis. He subsequently developed a recurrence, received radiotherapy in Tashkent, and recovered.
In The Cancer Ward Solzhenitzyn transforms these experiences into a multifaceted tale about Soviet society during the period of hope and liberalization after Stalin's death. Cancer, of course, is an obvious metaphor for the totalitarian state. The novel also provides an interesting look at mid-century Soviet medicine and medical ethics.
The novel also explores the personal qualities and motivation of physicians, and the issue of intimate relationships between doctors and patients. Probably the book's strongest points are its insight into human nature and the believability of its characters.
Solzhenitsyn is disappointed with Russian literature: "On the one hand, our Russian literature is very high because it has not lost its ethic standard. On the other hand, partly under the influence of Gogol, with his merciless attitude toward public vices, Russian literature lost its creative message. We have Oblomov, Onegin, Pechorin, all the so-called "useless people", but where are the builders, the creators? Russia was created as a mighty power stretching east to Siberia, where back in the 18th century we had educational institutions, talented people and culture. Then under Gogol's influence there appeared a succession of satirists and ironists. Saltytkov-Shchedrin, for example, with his scathing look at the negative is simply mustard."
Today Solzhenitsyn continues working, preparing his diaries for publication, writing letters to the former fellow-inmates and helping thousands of people. The Solzhenitsyn foundation is based on the royalties of The GULAG Archipelago, published in 30 countries. It supports thousands of former political prisoners across Russia.
"Giving is far more important than taking," says the writer's wife, Natalia. "As for him, he has popular love. He receives wonderful letters and knows there are many people who are grateful to him. But he works not for this gratitude. We are happy to be back home. We never feel lonely, nor do we bear any grudge. We feel as if we had never left the country."
1. Нива Ж. Солженицын. – М., 1992.
2. The New York Times, May 15,1997.
3. The New York Times, March 1, 1998.
4. Encyclopedia Britannica.
5. Профиль, 12 января 1998, №1.