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Book 2, Chapter 13
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
Nekhlyudov arrives in Petersburg with four main objectives: to appeal Maslova’s sentence, assist Theodosia, fulfill two prison-related requests from Vera, and look into the exile of several sectarians. Though he now feels alienated from high society and disgusted by its blindness to systemic injustice, he still relies on its members—many of whom he disdains—for help. Staying with his aristocratic aunt, Countess Charskaya, places him squarely back into the social world he has grown to reject, but which he cannot yet avoid.
Nekhlyudov’s discomfort with aristocratic life proves how far he has come, but his dependence on elite networks shows that he remains entangled in the very system he criticizes. The contradiction is unavoidable—meaningful change still requires access to power, even when that power disgusts him. Staying with Countess Charskaya places him in a space of wealth and influence, but also of performative civility and moral distance.
Active
Themes
The Countess bombards Nekhlyudov with a mix of scorn, affection, and offers of help. She mocks his “simpleton” morality but warms to his sincerity. Though repelled by the revolutionaries he seeks to help, she agrees to connect him with influential figures. Their exchanges swing from dismissive banter to serious disagreement, with Nekhlyudov defending the peasants and the poor while the Countess clings to privilege and tradition. In the end, she pledges support but warns him that his ideals may lead him to ruin.
