Resurrection

Realizing he is in the wrong room, Nekhlyudov asks to see the women’s ward and is escorted to the smaller, equally noisy women’s visiting area. Inside, he sees chaotic conversations taking place through wire mesh. He spots Maslova standing behind Fedosia, smiling and unaware of his presence. She is dressed neatly in a white dress, no longer in her prison cloak. The warder asks who he is there to see, then calls Maslova’s name.

Maslova approaches the visitor’s net with a smile, not recognizing Nekhlyudov until she sees his face more clearly. As he awkwardly asks her for forgiveness, she recalls their past, reacting with discomfort and bitterness.

The inspector allows them to meet in person, and they sit together briefly. Their conversation is strained—Maslova is guarded and transactional, asking for money, while Nekhlyudov is overwhelmed by guilt and pity. Though repelled by how much she has changed, he feels drawn to save her. As the visit ends, he promises to return.

Leaving the prison, Nekhlyudov reflects on Maslova’s transformation: “[H]e found that Katyusha existed no more, and that in her place was Maslova” (198). She has embraced sex work, not out of shame but as a means of self-worth. The narrator explains that people adapt to worldviews that justify their roles. Maslova’s resistance to Nekhlyudov stems from her fear of losing the social position her view of life affords her. Despite this, Nekhlyudov resolves to return and tell her he will marry her.

Nekhlyudov tries to simplify his life but makes no real changes. He visits the advocate Fanarin to discuss appealing Maslova’s sentence. Fanarin outlines four legal errors in the trial: (1) The improper interruption of the medical report’s reading; (2) the president’s unwarranted restriction of the defense attorney’s remarks on Maslova’s character; (3) the judge’s failure to explain that Maslova could be found guilty of negligence rather than intent to kill; and (4) the jury’s contradictory verdict, which acquitted her of theft but still assigned intent to murder. Though skeptical of success, Fanarin agrees to proceed with the appeal. Nekhlyudov takes the petition to have Maslova sign it, welcoming another chance to see her.

As the prison awakens, news spreads that two male prisoners—Vasiliev and Nepomnishy—are to be flogged for resisting punishment after defending a fellow inmate. Vasiliev is known for his intelligence and integrity but is disliked by the jailers. The flogging is scheduled to take place in the women’s visiting room.

In Maslova’s cell, the women discuss the incident over vodka. Maslova, now regularly drinking and treated as a provider by the others, confidently claims she’ll speak to Nekhlyudov about their concerns. Called away for a visit, she takes another drink and leaves the cell, cheerful and self-assured.

When Nekhlyudov arrives at the prison with permission to see Maslova, he notices confusion among the staff and suspects it’s related to the punishments scheduled for that day. The inspector, visibly shaken and exhausted, arranges for Maslova to be brought into a private office.

She enters in high spirits, unusually cheerful and familiar with Nekhlyudov. He gives her the appeal petition to sign, which she does willingly. As she finishes, the inspector exits, giving Nekhlyudov a moment alone with her to say what he had previously been unable to express.

Nekhlyudov tells Maslova he intends to marry her to atone for his past wrongs. Startled and agitated—partly from alcohol—Maslova reacts with anger and disbelief, rejecting him. Despite her harshness, Nekhlyudov insists he will continue to help her. The exchange leaves them both shaken.

Back in the cell, Maslova lies down in silence, overwhelmed by memories of the life she left behind. Unable to reconcile her past with the present, she drinks again.

Leaving the prison, Nekhlyudov is overwhelmed by the full weight of his guilt, realizing that both he and Maslova have only now grasped the true depth of the harm he caused. 

As he departs, a warder secretly hands him a note from Vera Doukhova, a political prisoner, who requests a meeting. Nekhlyudov remembers her from a past hunting trip, when she impressed him with her sincerity and desire to serve the people. Recalling the purity of that time, he resolves to visit her, especially since she offers to help regarding Maslova’s case.

The next morning, Nekhlyudov, still shaken but resolute, visits Maslennikov—a former military acquaintance now serving as acting governor—to request permission to see Maslova and Vera Doukhova in private. Maslennikov, pompous and self-satisfied, agrees to grant both requests. He talks about his firm-yet-benevolent prison administration and criticizes Nekhlyudov’s choice of advocate, Fanarin. Declining an invitation to visit Maslennikov’s wife, Nekhlyudov leaves, eager to return to the prison.

Nekhlyudov returns to the prison. At the inspector’s home, he learns Maslova is drunk and has been isolated due to violent behavior. He is warned not to give her money in the future.

Nekhlyudov asks to see the political prisoner Doukhova and requests to meet the Menshovs, a mother and son accused of arson. The inspector agrees and sends an assistant to guide Nekhlyudov to Menshov’s cell.

Nekhlyudov walks through the prison corridor, peering into several cells and seeing men in various states of despair. At Cell 21, he meets Menshov, who tells his story: After trying to reclaim his wife from a corrupt publican who seduced her, he was beaten and later falsely accused of setting the man’s insured property on fire. His account moves Nekhlyudov, who promises to consult a lawyer and help. As he leaves, Menshov looks out through the cell door with desperate hope.

Walking through the prison, Nekhlyudov is approached by a group of men who plead with him to help their case. They have been imprisoned for over a month because of expired passports, though in previous years such delays were tolerated. The local prison they should have been sent to had burned down, so they were left in legal limbo.

Appalled, Nekhlyudov questions the assistant, who confirms the situation and admits some prisoners are jailed unjustly. Nekhlyudov is disturbed by the systemic cruelty and becomes physically ill as he realizes he had witnessed the flogging the day before. At the office, the inspector apologizes for forgetting to send for Doukhova and finally gives the order.

Nekhlyudov enters the prison office, where visitors are quietly conversing with political prisoners. He observes a range of emotionally charged reunions: A weeping mother with her son, lovers lost in each other, and a stern woman comforting others.

A little boy named Kolia, the son of a political prisoner, approaches Nekhlyudov with curious questions. Their interaction is interrupted by Maria Pavlovna, who takes the boy back. Nekhlyudov is struck by her open manner and warmth. As he processes the humanity in the room, the inspector announces the arrival of Doukhova.

Doukhova, thin and worn but cheerful, meets with Nekhlyudov and eagerly discusses her revolutionary activities. She shares complex details of the Nardovolstvo movement and asks him to help two fellow prisoners: One wrongly detained, and another seeking permission to see his family and access study materials. Nekhlyudov agrees to help. She tells the story of Pavlovna’s cellmate, a noble woman who falsely confessed to killing a gendarme to protect others. Lastly, Doukhova urges Nekhlyudov to have Maslova moved to better conditions by requesting her transfer to the political ward or hospital as a nurse.

The inspector announces that it is time for prisoners and guests to part, but no one immediately obeys. Emotional goodbyes unfold throughout the room—most poignantly between a mother and her consumptive son.

Among the crowd, Nekhlyudov is struck again by Pavlovna’s gentle care and by a young couple who, despite everything, dance together, soon to be married before departing for Siberia.

The inspector grows uneasy, aware of the pain he is complicit in enforcing. Nekhlyudov leaves with renewed anguish at the senseless cruelty.

Nekhlyudov visits the advocate to discuss the Menshov case and the imprisonment of over 100 men without proper cause. The advocate agrees to look into the matter but warns that no one will take responsibility.

Nekhlyudov then visits Maslennikov to request Maslova’s transfer to the hospital and raise concerns about the passport-less prisoners. It’s the vice-governor’s social day, and Nekhlyudov is swept into a gathering filled with aristocratic chatter, forced pleasantries, and shallow gossip. He pulls Maslennikov aside to speak privately.

In a private room, Nekhlyudov asks Maslennikov to arrange Maslova’s transfer to the prison hospital and to address the unjust detention of passport-less peasants. Maslennikov, initially evasive, promises to look into both matters but quickly shifts blame onto the public prosecutor. When Nekhlyudov brings up the recent flogging, Maslennikov tries to deflect, pulling him back toward the drawing room. Disgusted, Nekhlyudov leaves, and the guests gossip about his abrupt departure.

The next day, he receives a letter from Maslennikov promising action and signed with condescending familiarity.

Nekhlyudov returns to the prison to visit Maslova, who greets him quietly and apologizes for her outburst. She insists again that he must leave her and that marriage is impossible. Though firm, her refusal holds an undercurrent of care, which renews Nekhlyudov’s conviction and clears his doubts: “He now felt something he had never before experienced—the certainty that love is invincible” (255). Before parting, she agrees to enter the hospital and to stop drinking.

Back in her cell, Maslova sits in contemplative silence while the other women chatter around her. When asked about Nekhlyudov, she confirms she turned him down.