Resurrection

“Had he been asked why he considered himself superior to the majority of people he could not have given an answer; his life had not been particularly meritorious.”

This moment reveals Nekhlyudov’s unconscious entitlement and highlights Tolstoy’s use of irony. Though Nekhlyudov prides himself on refinement, his sense of superiority is unsupported by meaningful action or merit. The gap between self-perception and reality points to his arrested moral development and foreshadows the internal reckoning that will challenge his self-image.

“If a woman figured in his dreams at all it was only as a wife. All the other women, whom, according to his ideas, he could not marry, were not women for him but human beings.”

Tolstoy uses this reflection to expose Nekhlyudov’s early binary thinking about women, revealing a worldview steeped in social norms and patriarchal conditioning. The distinction between women he could marry and “human beings” implies an idealized purity applied only to certain women. This objectification, couched in well-meaning terms, is part of the foundation for his later moral failure and inability to recognize The Impact of Personal Actions on Others.

“In the depth of his soul he felt he was a scoundrel, who ought to be ashamed to look people in the face, yet, by sheer force of habit, he stepped on to the platform in his usual self-possessed manner, and sat down next to the foreman, crossing his legs and playing with his pince-nez.”

This sentence captures Nekhlyudov’s internal conflict through juxtaposition and ironic contrast between his private guilt and his public demeanor. The imagery of him playing with his pince-nez glasses reinforces the performance of aristocratic composure, even as he sees himself as morally ruined. Tolstoy critiques the power of social conditioning and external appearances to override conscience.

“He felt himself in the position of a puppy, when its master, taking it by the scruff of its neck, rubs its nose in the mess it has made. The puppy whines, draws back and wants to get as far away as possible from the effects of its misdeed, but the pitiless master does not let go.”

An extended simile conveys Nekhlyudov’s shame and helplessness, comparing him to a scolded animal. The use of visceral imagery and the phrase “pitiless master” suggest not just social judgment but a deeper moral reckoning that forces him to confront his past. The metaphor emphasizes his loss of agency and the harsh, inescapable nature of The Importance of Moral and Spiritual Awakening.

“Let them judge me as they like; I could deceive them, but myself I cannot deceive.”

This line marks a key moment in Nekhlyudov’s moral awakening and growing self-awareness. The shift from external validation to internal accountability signals his evolving values. The repetition of “deceive” underscores the concept of self-deception as a societal norm and frames his new integrity as both liberating and burdensome.

“While she was sitting in the prisoners’ room before the trial and during the intervals, she saw these men look in at the open door, pretending they had to pass there on some business, or enter the room and gaze on her with approval. And then, for some unknown reason, these same men had condemned her to hard labour, though she was innocent of the charge laid against her.”

Tolstoy uses dramatic irony and juxtaposition to expose the hypocrisy of The Injustice of the Judicial and Penal Systems. The same men who objectify Maslova also pass judgment on her, demonstrating the double standards imposed on women and showing how desire and power intersect to distort justice.

“This idea that, on moral grounds, he was ready to sacrifice all and marry her, again made him feel very tender toward himself.”

Tolstoy undercuts Nekhlyudov’s supposed selflessness through irony, revealing how his imagined virtue is tangled with vanity. The phrase “tender toward himself” shows that his desire to act nobly is accompanied by self-congratulation, suggesting that his awareness of The Importance of Moral and Spiritual Awakening is still tinged with ego.

“There was nothing personal in his feeling—he wanted nothing from her for himself—he only wished that she might not remain as she now was, that she might awaken and become what she had been.”

This quote marks a moment of transformation in Nekhlyudov’s character. The language emphasizes selflessness, using the repetition of “nothing” to underscore that his motives are no longer romantic or selfish. Tolstoy contrasts Maslova’s current social status with an idealized memory of her past, reinforcing the novel’s central theme of The Possibility of Redemption and Transformation.

“According to this conception the highest good for all men—old, young, schoolboys, generals, educated and uneducated—was sexual intercourse with attractive women; therefore, all men, even when they pretend to be occupied with other things, in reality desired nothing else. She was an attractive woman, and it lay in her power to satisfy, or not to satisfy, and she was therefore an important and necessary person. The whole of her former and present life bore out the correctness of this conception.”

Tolstoy delves into the psychological conditioning that sustains Maslova’s self-worth. The repetitive structure of “all men […] all men […] in reality desired nothing else,” highlights the totality of her belief, shaped by systemic objectification. The quote offers an explicit critique of patriarchal values and moral hypocrisy, exposing how Maslova’s identity has been warped into a function of male desire. It also contributes to The Injustice of the Judicial and Penal Systems by showing how society, not just the court, has consigned her to a marginalized role she now views as empowering.

“At the usual hour the warder’s whistle sounded in the corridors of the prison, the iron doors of the cells rattled, bare feet pattered, heels clattered, and the prisoners who acted as scavengers passed along the corridors filling the air with disgusting smells.”

Tolstoy uses auditory imagery to create a visceral and oppressive sensory environment. The piling up of harsh consonants in “rattled,” “pattered,” and “clattered” produces a rhythmic cacophony that mimics the mechanical, dehumanizing routine of prison life. The onomatopoeic effect invites readers into the soundscape, reinforcing the monotony and filth of incarceration.

“Terrible was the disgrace and suffering cast on those scores of guiltless people simply because something was not written on paper as it should have been. Terrible were the brutalized warders, whose occupation it is to torment their brothers, and who were certain that they were fulfilling an important and useful duty; but most terrible of all seemed this sickly, elderly mother and son, father and daughter, who were just such people as himself and his own children.”

Through anaphora, Tolstoy builds a crescendo of horror that culminates in the devastating realization that the prisoners are no different from the free. The bureaucratic absurdity—being imprisoned because something “was not written on paper”—critiques the cold indifference of state systems. The familial language (“just such people as himself and his own children”) breaks the illusion of otherness, highlighting the dehumanization at the heart of The Injustice of the Judicial and Penal Systems.

“Everything seemed so clear to him now, that he could not stop wondering how it was that everybody did not see it, and that he himself had been so long in perceiving what was so clearly evident.”

This moment captures an emotional climax of Nekhlyudov’s ideological awakening. The repetition of “clear” and “evident” emphasizes the sudden force and undeniability of his realization, even as it underscores how long it took him to see what was plainly in front of him. This rhetorical device of self-reflected incredulity draws attention to the theme of The Importance of Moral and Spiritual Awakening and highlights the core irony that society’s most basic injustices often remain invisible to those who benefit from them.

“Nekhlyudov, as always, found it unbearable that, in order to aid the oppressed, he had to stand on the side of the oppressors, by appearing to sanction their activities through the mere act of applying to them with a request that they slightly modify their cruelty, at least in respect to certain individuals—a cruelty which had become habitual with them and which they themselves were probably unaware of.”

Tolstoy uses cumulative syntax and heavy clauses to capture Nekhlyudov’s inner torment at the paradox of navigating unjust systems to help others. The phrase “slightly modifying their cruelty” exposes the inertia and moral indifference of bureaucratic power structures. This moment crystalizes the theme of The Injustice of the Judicial and Penal Systems, as well as the impact of personal actions when filtered through oppressive systems.

“A woman whom they have kept in solitary confinement for seven months turns out to be quite innocent, and only a word was needed to get her released.”

This stark sentence contrasts the severity of prolonged imprisonment with the ease of release, underscoring the arbitrary and human-dependent nature of the penal system. Tolstoy’s use of passive voice (“have kept,” “turns out”) highlights how impersonal forces inflict lasting harm with little accountability, evading The Impact of Personal Actions on Others. The phrase, “only a word” points to the imbalance of power—where influence, not justice, determines someone’s fate—reinforcing the novel’s central critique of judicial and institutional injustice.

“Skovorodnikov was a materialist and a Darwinian, and counted every manifestation of abstract morality, or, worse still, religion, not only as despicable folly but as a personal affront to himself.”

This satirical characterization of Skovorodnikov highlights the ideological biases that underpin judicial decisions. Tolstoy exposes how personal philosophies—here, scientism and materialism—shape moral judgements in the courtroom. The exaggerated phrasing, particularly “as a personal affront to himself,” emphasizes the absurdity of allowing subjective worldviews to influence matters of life and death.

“An evil action may not be repeated, and can be repented of; but evil thoughts generate all evil actions.”

Here, Tolstoy’s aphoristic line marks a turning point in Nekhlyudov’s introspection and moral clarity. His use of parallel structure—“may not be repeated […] can be repented of […] generate all evil actions”—adds rhetorical force to the insight. The dichotomy between action and thought suggests that The Possibility of Redemption and Transformation must begin at the level of the inner life, not just outward behavior. It also aligns with Tolstoy’s Christian moral philosophy, which prioritizes purity of intention.

“Nekhlyudov clearly saw that all these people were arrested, locked up, exiled, not really because they infringed justice or behaved unlawfully, but only because they were an obstacle, hindering the officials and the rich from enjoying the property they had taken away from the people.”

This passage exemplifies Tolstoy’s blunt social critique, channeling it through the voice of a morally awakened protagonist. The diction—“not really because […] but only because”—reveals a cynical inversion of justice: Punishment is not a reaction to crime, but a tool to protect privilege. The sentence’s structure builds from action to motive, exposing the mechanisms of power that operate beneath the surface of legality.

“He asked a very simple question: ‘Why, and by what right, do some people lock up, torment, exile, flog, and kill others, while they are themselves just like those whom they torment, flog, and kill?’”

Tolstoy’s rhetorical strategy here is to foreground moral clarity through radical simplicity. The repetition of violent verbs (“lock up, torment, exile, flog, and kill”) creates a cumulative rhythm that contrasts with the question’s premise of human equality. By asserting sameness between oppressor and oppressed, Tolstoy strips away the ideological justifications that sustain carceral institutions.

“We may deal with things without love—we cut down trees, make bricks, hammer iron without love—but we cannot deal with men without it, just as one cannot deal with bees without being careful. If one deals carelessly with bees one will injure them and will be injured oneself. And so with men. It cannot be otherwise, because mutual love is the fundamental law of human life.”

This extended metaphor compares humans to bees, highlighting vulnerability, interdependence, and consequence. Tolstoy’s analogy underscores the moral peril of treating people as objects—a central critique of bureaucratic cruelty that also stresses The Impact of Personal Actions on Others. The line encapsulates the novel’s ultimate moral vision, where love is not optional but foundational to human society.

“There now! And I cried when I was sentenced. Why, I must thank God for it all the days of my life. I have learnt to know what I never should have found out otherwise.”

Spoken by Maslova, this quote illustrates The Possibility of Redemption and Transformation. Maslova thanking God for a prison sentence highlights the paradoxical nature of her redemption, achieved through suffering. It also signals a shift in her character arc, where adversity becomes a gateway to higher consciousness and moral awakening.

“I often think that here we are going side by side with them—and who are they? The very people for whose sake we are going, and yet we not only do not know them, but do not even wish to know them.”

Kryltsov critiques the alienation between political revolutionaries and the very people they claim to represent. The rhetorical structure—posing a question and then answering it with pointed disillusionment—underscores the hypocrisy in idealistic movements that ignore real human connection. It also reinforces the disunity between intellect-driven ideology and lived human experience.

“No, they are not human: men who can do what they are doing…No…It is said that some kind of bombs and balloons have been invented. Well, one ought to go up in a balloon, and sprinkle them with bombs, as if they were bugs, till they are all exterminated.”

This outburst from Kryltsov uses graphic metaphor and repetition to express the depth of his fury at systemic cruelty. Dehumanizing language—comparing the state officials to bugs—mirrors the very violence he condemns, revealing the moral corrosion even among the most idealistic. The quote captures the destructive cycle of vengeance and retribution and the psychological toll of prolonged exposure to The Injustice of Judicial and Penal Systems.

“It is just as if a problem had been set: to find the best, the surest means of depraving the greatest number of people!”

Here, Tolstoy uses sarcasm and mathematical analogy to critique the prison system. The phrase “as if a problem had been set” frames systemic cruelty as deliberate, calculated design rather than incidental failure. The language is ironic, with “depraving the greatest number” reflecting a dark inversion of utilitarian logic, exposing how state systems invert their stated moral aims.