Resurrection

Fresh leaves, birds and warm air surround a town whose prison is preparing to send three prisoners to court. Máslova emerges from confinement and walks under guard through streets full of curious onlookers. The charges concern a merchant's sudden death, missing money and a powder placed in his drink. Her account explains what she believed she was giving him and challenges the claims against her. These scenes set the renewal of spring beside the stale air of prison and the judgments people pass on a stranger.

Later, Nekhlúdoff asks Wolff about an appeal, insisting that Máslova's sentence resulted from a misunderstanding. Wolff replies that the Senate examines how laws have been applied. At an expensive dinner, discussion of a fatal duel shows another side of public judgment, shaped by rank and the honour of an officer's uniform. The novel offers readers a close examination of fairness through prisoners, officials and the conversations of comfortable households.