Resurrection · Chapter
Translator's Preface explained
Louise Maude explains her motivation for translating Tolstoy's novel, noting that the proceeds are donated to aid the Doukhobors, a pacifist sect persecuted in the Caucasus and exiled to Siberia and Canada.
What happens
Louise Maude explains her motivation for translating Tolstoy's novel, noting that the proceeds are donated to aid the Doukhobors, a pacifist sect persecuted in the Caucasus and exiled to Siberia and Canada. She also defends the spelling of Tolstoy's name as he himself writes it.
Themes in this chapter
Revolution and Resistance
The preface highlights the Doukhobors' resistance to military conscription and their persecution, linking the novel's proceeds to supporting their cause.
Hypocrisy of Religion and Morality
The persecution of the Doukhobors for their religious beliefs underscores the hypocrisy of state and religious authorities.
Key passages
“This novel, written in the rough by Tolstoy some years ago and founded upon an actual occurrence, was completely rewritten by him during the last year and a half, and all the proceeds have been devoted by him to aiding the Doukhobors”
Tolstoy rewrote the novel, based on a true event, over the past eighteen months and donated all earnings to help the Doukhobors.
Explains the novel's origin and the charitable purpose of its publication.
“Prevention is better than cure, and I would rather help people to abstain from killing and wounding each other than devote the money to patch up their wounds after the battle.”
It is better to prevent violence than to treat its consequences, so the translator prefers supporting pacifism over aiding victims after conflict.
Expresses the translator's pacifist philosophy and motivation for the work.