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| photo credit: Cait Malilay |
"Though hundreds of thousands had done their very best to disfigure the small piece of land on which they were crowded together, by paving the ground with stones, scraping away every vestige of vegetation, cutting down the trees, turning away birds and beasts, and filling the air with the smoke of naphtha and coal, still spring was spring, even in the town." - (Tolstoy 5)
"Resurrection" was Leo Tolstoy's last written novel published in 1899. Told in the third person perspective, the book centers on a nobleman named Dmitri Ivanovich Nekhlyudov, whose values are tested when he by chance reconnects with someone from his past, someone he once loved and betrayed.
The book's first chapter has strong similarities to that of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" with its opening passages of a prison and society focused on the fate of a fallen woman.
We are introduced to Maslova, also known as "Katusha," who is jailed for poisoning and murdering a merchant. It's been 10 years since Nekhlyudov last saw her.
He is serving as one of the jury members in the courtroom. In the first few chapters, Tolstoy really sets the scene and paints this idea of how life is a performance, everyone is just playing their roles.
Its no coincidence that he chose the opening setting as a courtroom with themes of forgiveness and guilt.
Though Maslova is being tried, it is almost as though Tolstoy pulls readers into the novel as a jury member ready to judge not only Nekhlyudov's character, but the others in power as well.
Knowledge and money lead to power, but not necessarily justice
This is certainly a book for those who love character-driven novels.
Tolstoy touches a lot on the background characters and their lives, which initially I thought to myself, "What's the point?".
Yes, the judges play a key role in the justice system, but why mention that one of them is having an affair with the governess of his children?
Why mention that another official is more concerned if his wife were to have dinner ready for him when he wraps up the case?
How does this drive the plot forward?
This was absolutely necessary to point out to readers that the future of individual lives are in the hands of ordinary, flawed people, who could care less.
Though they are educated and wealthy, does that make them worthy to determine the outcome of one's fate?
It makes one question and think how devoted are those serving in the criminal justice system. Who are we to judge?
What happened between Nekhlyudov and Katusha?
"She never brought back to mind the days of her childhood and youth...That would have been too painful. These memories lay untouched somewhere deep in her soul; she had forgotten him, and never recalled and never even dreamt of him." - (133)
Katusha was taken in by Nekhlyudov's aunts when she was just a baby.
Her mother was the unmarried daughter of a village woman, employed on their dairy farm.
So many babies have died from poor health, but Katusha, the sixth child, lived after being taken in by them.
Flash forward, Nekhlyudov is a charming, innocent young university student.
He comes to visit his aunts in their quiet countryside village, where he meets her.
They fall deeply in love. Their time expires and he must return to university.
Nekhlyudov graduates, joins the military and becomes corrupted by vices such as gambling and drinking.
He returns two years later, a completely different person from the one that she once knew.
It is on this visit where he objectifies Katusha by sexually assaulting her and to make matters worse, leave her with 100 roubles.
Pregnant with his child and unhappy, she leaves the safety of his aunts' home.
Her mother's curse passes down to her and the baby dies shortly after being born.
Ashamed, Maslova turns to prostitution for survival.
"Nekhlyudov thought all this, no longer listening to what was going on, and he was horror struck by that which what was being revealed to him. He could not understand why he had not been able to see all this before, and why others were unable to see it." - (128)
Part one is more so focused on the development and different stages of Nekhlyudov.
Readers will observe how slowly, but surely, he emotionally matures.
His reconnection with Katusha serves as a catalyst.
He can't help but feel guilty that he's responsible for where she currently stands, so he makes it a mission to serve her through all means possible.
When he visits her in the prison he bears witness to the conditions they live in and he hears their stories of the circumstances that led them there.
Nekhlyudov feels responsible to serve them justice and so he finds himself helping not only Maslova, but many other prisoners as well.
He wouldn't have been able to do this had it not been for his social status and his ties to those in power, which says a lot about the criminal justice system today.
One question that I pondered with as I read part one was, "What makes a 'changed' man? Can Nekhlyudov really change?"
Still not sure if Tolstoy's last novel is the book for you? If you like these songs, then you'll probably like "Resurrection."
Playlist
"Eyes Open" - Taylor Swift
"When You Were Young" - The Killers
"The A Team" - Ed Sheeran
"Castles Crumbling" - Taylor Swift
"Pure as the Driven Snow" - Rachel Zegler
"What a Time" - Julia Michaels and Niall Horan
"Consequences" - Camila Cabello
Here's the version I read...
Tolstoy, Leo. Resurrection. Wordsworth Editions, 2014.
Tolstoy, Leo. Resurrection. Wordsworth Editions, 2014.
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