Resurrection

Prince Dmitri Nekhlyudov serves as a juror in a murder trial, only to recognize the defendant as Maslova, a woman he seduced and abandoned years earlier. Her conviction for a crime she did not commit triggers a crisis of conscience in Nekhlyudov, who attempts to secure her release while renouncing his title and land. The narrative follows their trek to Siberia, contrasting the decadent life of the Russian aristocracy with the brutal realities of the penal system. Tolstoy uses this framework to critique the hypocrisy of the Orthodox Church and the arbitrary cruelty of the state's judicial bureaucracy.

Readers interested in the intersection of moral philosophy and institutional reform study this text to understand Tolstoy’s later views on non-violence and social justice. It appeals to those seeking a granular look at late nineteenth-century Russian history beyond the drawing rooms of the elite. The reader learns how individual repentance functions within a rigid class hierarchy and finishes the book with a specific understanding of the Tolstoyian belief system regarding civilian duty and spiritual rebirth.