Resurrection · Chapter
II explained
This chapter recounts the life story of Katerina Máslova, from her birth as the illegitimate daughter of a village woman to her descent into prostitution and eventual imprisonment.
What happens
This chapter recounts the life story of Katerina Máslova, from her birth as the illegitimate daughter of a village woman to her descent into prostitution and eventual imprisonment. It details her childhood with two maiden ladies, her seduction by the young Prince Nekhlúdoff, the death of her baby, and her subsequent struggles with abusive employers and poverty, which ultimately led her to a brothel where she lived for seven years before being arrested for a crime.
Themes in this chapter
Sexual Exploitation and Women's Position
Katúsha's life is a series of sexual exploitations: seduced by Nekhlúdoff, assaulted by a police officer and a forester, and eventually forced into prostitution by economic necessity.
Social Class and Inequality
The contrast between Katúsha's lowly birth and the wealthy landowners (the maiden ladies and Nekhlúdoff) illustrates the rigid class hierarchy that determines her fate.
Injustice of the Legal System
The chapter sets up the injustice of Katúsha's eventual trial and imprisonment, showing how her life of poverty and exploitation leads to her being criminalized.
Characters to notice
- Katerina Maslova
Protagonist of the chapter; her life story from birth to imprisonment is detailed, including her seduction by Nekhlúdoff, the death of her child, and her years in a brothel.
- Prince Dmitri Ivanovich Nekhludoff
The nephew of the maiden ladies who seduced Katúsha when she was sixteen, giving her a hundred rouble note before leaving.
- Princess Sophia Vasilievna
One of the two maiden ladies; the younger sister who stood godmother to Katúsha and treated her kindly, dressing her and teaching her to read.
- Maria Ivanovna
The elder of the two maiden ladies; she was strict and wanted Katúsha to be brought up to work as a servant.
- The Doctor
Mentioned as part of the police station visits where women were examined by government doctors.
Key passages
“And in the manner Katúsha Máslova lived seven years. During this time she had changed backwards and forwards once or twice and had once been to the hospital. In the seventh year of this life in the brothel, when she was twenty-six years old, happened that for which she was put in prison and for which she was now being taken to be tried, after more than three months of confinement with thieves and murderers in the stifling air of a prison.”
Katúsha Máslova spent seven years in the brothel, with occasional changes and one hospital stay. At age twenty-six, an event occurred that led to her imprisonment and trial, after over three months in jail with criminals.
Summarizes the end of her brothel life and the beginning of her legal troubles.
“The little black-eyed maiden grew to be extremely pretty, and so full of spirits that the ladies found her very entertaining.”
The young girl with black eyes became very beautiful and lively, amusing the two ladies who raised her.
Describes Katúsha's appearance and temperament as a child.
“Then two years later this same nephew stayed four days with his aunts before proceeding to join his regiment, and the night before he left he seduced Katúsha, and, after giving her a one hundred rouble note, went away.”
Two years later, the nephew visited for four days before joining his regiment; on the last night, he seduced Katúsha and left her with a hundred rouble note.
Recounts the pivotal seduction by Nekhlúdoff.