# Chapter XXX: The Women's Cell explained — Resurrection

> Chapter companion for Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy.

## What happens

The chapter describes the crowded women's cell in prison where Máslova is held. It introduces the various inmates, their crimes, and their personal stories, including Korabléva, Theodosia, and others. The women interact with each other and with convicts passing through the yard, revealing the harsh realities of prison life and the diverse backgrounds of the prisoners.

## Themes in this chapter

### Injustice of the Legal System

The chapter highlights the arbitrary and harsh sentences imposed on women, such as Theodosia's hard labor for a domestic dispute and the old woman's imprisonment for alleged incendiarism.

### Social Class and Inequality

The diverse backgrounds of the prisoners—from peasants to a deacon's daughter—illustrate how class and poverty lead to incarceration and unequal treatment.

## Character check-ins

### Katerina Maslova

Máslova is imprisoned in the women's cell and is the central figure among the inmates.

### Korableva

A tall, strong woman sentenced to hard labor for killing her husband; she leads the women in the cell and trades in spirits.

### Theodosia Birukoff

A young, pretty woman sentenced for attempting to poison her husband; she is kind and devoted to Máslova.

### Khoroshavka

A small, awkward woman with a blotchy face, to be tried for stealing and incendiarism; she laughs at the yard activity.

## Key lines

> The old woman he kept repeating, “There, haven’t caught me!”

The old woman repeatedly exclaimed, 'There, you haven't caught me!'

_Shows the playful defiance of the old woman accused of incendiarism._

> The cell in which Máslova was imprisoned was a large room twenty-one feet long and ten feet broad; it had two windows and a large stove.

Máslova's cell measured twenty-one by ten feet, with two windows and a large stove.

_Describes the cramped and basic conditions of the prison cell._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/resurrection_se/chapters/xxx
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/resurrection_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/resurrection_se/chapters