Christopher Booker is a scholar who wrote that every story falls into one of seven basic plot structures: Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, the Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy, and Rebirth. Shmoop explores which of these structures fits this story like Cinderella’s slipper.
Plot Type : Tragedy
Anticipation Stage
It takes a while for Doctor Zhivago's true desires to start making themselves known to us. After the rise of Communism in Russia, though, we start to get a really good sense of how dissatisfied Zhivago is with the world around him. His friends have all stopped thinking for themselves, and all they do is spout off Communist propaganda. Zhivago, though, feels like he needs a bigger sense of freedom, which he feels he can find with his family if they move away from Moscow and into the Ural Mountains.
Oh yeah, and it's pretty common in this stage of a tragedy for the main character to become obsessed with some object of desire. And this turns out to be a woman named Lara Antipova, a married woman. Did we mention that Zhivago is also a married man?
Dream Stage
When he moves into a village right next to Lara's town, Zhivago starts having an affair with Lara. He feels guilty about it whenever he returns to his family. At the same time, he's extremely happy to be with Lara. Despite the guilt, things seem to be looking pretty good.
Frustration Stage
Things take a turn for the worse when Zhivago gets abducted by a local militia that forces him to work as a doctor for them. For three years, Zhivago is kept away from his family and from Lara while travelling with this army. He tries three times to escape, but each time, he's caught and threatened with death. It's only when the militia finally defeats its enemies that Zhivago escapes and no one comes after him.
Nightmare Stage
Returning to the Urals, Zhivago finds out that his family has been deported from Russia. He goes to live with Lara, but there are still big problems. The government is going to arrest both Zhivago and Lara at any moment because they haven't shown enough loyalty to the ideas of Communism. On several occasions, Zhivago has the chance to save himself, but he is too stubborn and proud to let society grind him down. He stands by his rights as an individual and refuses to submit to Communist authority. Eventually, he has to do the unthinkable and part ways with Lara for the sake of saving her.
Destruction or Death Wish Stage
With Lara gone from his life, Zhivago has lost his will to live. But that doesn't stop him from living for another ten years and having two kids with another woman named Marina. At this part of the plot, Pasternak puts a new spin on the traditional tragedy genre. While most tragic figures go out in a blaze of glory, Zhivago dies of a random heart attack in the street one day. The pathetic nature of his death helps Pasternak show just how soulless and unpoetic the world of Communist Russia truly is. There's no room for a poetic death in this kind of inhuman machine.