Resurrection · Chapter
XLI explained
Nekhlúdoff visits the prison to see Máslova, but is confronted with the dehumanizing conditions of the visiting room, where prisoners and visitors must shout through double nets.
What happens
Nekhlúdoff visits the prison to see Máslova, but is confronted with the dehumanizing conditions of the visiting room, where prisoners and visitors must shout through double nets. He feels indignation and moral sickness at the system.
Themes in this chapter
Injustice of the Legal System
The brutal, dehumanizing prison visiting system highlights the systemic injustice and cruelty of the legal and penal system.
Moral Awakening and Redemption
Nekhlúdoff's moral revulsion and sense of powerlessness reflect his ongoing moral awakening and struggle with complicity.
Characters to notice
- Prince Dmitri Ivanovich Nekhludoff
Visits the prison to see Máslova, experiences moral revulsion at the prison conditions.
- Katerina Maslova
Nekhlúdoff names her to the warder; she is the prisoner he intends to visit.
Key passages
“He was seized with a curious moral sensation like seasickness.”
Nekhlúdoff felt a profound moral nausea, as if the world itself were unsteady and wrong.
Describes Nekhlúdoff's visceral reaction to the prison's inhumanity.
“The two halves of the room... were separated, not by one, but by two nets reaching from the floor to the ceiling.”
The visiting area was divided by two wire nets, creating a seven-foot gap between prisoners and visitors.
Illustrates the physical and emotional barriers imposed by the prison system.