Which statement best summarizes the central theme of this excerpt from leo tolstoy’s the death of ivan ilyich? and suddenly it grew clear to him that what had been oppressing him and would not leave him was all dropping away at once from two sides, from ten sides, and from all sides. he was sorry for them, he must act so as not to hurt them: release them and free himself from these sufferings. "how good and how simple! " he thought. "and the pain? " he asked himself. "what has become of it? where are you, pain? " he turned his attention to it. "yes, here it is. well, what of it? let the pain be." "and is it? " he sought his former accustomed fear of death and did not find it. "where is it? what death? " there was no fear because there was no death. in place of death there was light. a. acceptance of death causes less pain. b. death is painful and cannot be avoided. c. death should be feared since it is painful. d. freeing oneself from death is impossible.