Resurrection

The importance of moral and spiritual awakening is a central theme that drives both the plot and philosophical framework of Resurrection. Tolstoy charts this awakening through Prince Dmitri Ivanovich Nekhlyudov, whose internal transformation becomes the backbone of the novel. Tolstoy uses this character not only to illustrate individual redemption, but to critique the broader moral failings of society and its institutions.

The catalyst for Nekhlyudov’s awakening is his unexpected encounter with Katerina Maslova in the courtroom. Recognizing her as the young woman he seduced and abandoned years ago, he is overcome with guilt. This moment initiates a profound internal reckoning. Nekhlyudov begins to see his past actions—and his privileged life more broadly—not as isolated mistakes, but as part of a larger system of injustice. He commits himself to righting this wrong, initially by attempting to overturn her sentence, and eventually by following her into Siberian exile. The path of restitution leads him far beyond personal guilt and into a deeper spiritual inquiry.

As Nekhlyudov moves through the bureaucracy of the courts, the harshness of prisons, and the suffering of convicts, he undergoes a moral unlearning. His former life of social privilege, idleness, and casual cruelty becomes unbearable to him.