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Book 1, Chapter 6
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Resurrection, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Moral and Spiritual Resurrection
Class and the Penal System
Double Standards and the Abuse of Women
The Role of Conscience
Hypocrisy and Self-Deception
Summary
Analysis
As the final judge arrives, the usher gathers the jurors and reads off their names, including Nekhlyudov’s. With nearly all present, the usher leads them into the courtroom, a grand space filled with formal furniture and a portrait of the Emperor. Soon after, the court officials enter. Dressed in gold-trimmed uniforms, the judges settle into their seats with a sense of importance. The assistant prosecutor, young and ambitious, hurries in and begins reviewing his notes, determined to secure a conviction. The room fills with quiet anticipation as the trial is about to begin.
Tolstoy stages the courtroom as a performance, where the grandeur of uniforms and rituals conceals the emptiness of the proceedings. The setting projects authority, but the people within it care more about appearances than justice. Nekhlyudov blends into this display, another figure in a system more concerned with hierarchy than humanity. The assistant prosecutor’s eagerness to convict, despite his unreadiness, reinforces how the court prioritizes outcomes over truth.
Active
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