Both Uses of
semblance
in
The Death of Ivan Ilych
- His aim was to free himself more and more from those unpleasantness and to give them a semblance of harmlessness and propriety.†
Chpt 2 *
- Ivan Ilych, as one in whose sphere the matter did not lie, would have nothing to do with him: but if the man had some business with him in his official capacity, something that could be expressed on officially stamped paper, he would do everything, positively everything he could within the limits of such relations, and in doing so would maintain the semblance of friendly human relations, that is, would observe the courtesies of life.†
Chpt 3
Definition:
-
(semblance) a small amount of something; or something resembling (looking like) something else