Chapter 109 Part Three - Five

Nekhludoff and Maslova met only twice on the road from the Lower Town to Perm: once in the Lower Town, before the prisoners were loaded onto barges with barbed wire; and once in Perm prison office.During these two meetings, he found Maslova taciturn and indifferent.When Nekhludoff asked her how she was, and whether she needed anything, she answered with faltering, flustered, and, he felt, a reproach, which had happened before.Nekhludoff was troubled by this gloomy mood which arose when she was being harassed by a man.He worried that under the harsh conditions and obscene atmosphere along the way, she would give up on herself again, feel hopeless about life, use alcohol and tobacco to anesthetize herself, and develop resentment towards him.But he couldn't help her, because he hadn't had the opportunity to meet her during the first part of the journey.It wasn't until Maslova was transferred to the political prison unit that he believed his fears were unfounded.Not only that, but every time Nekhludoff saw her he saw more and more clearly the change in her, which was exactly what he longed for.When they met for the first time in Tomsk, she was the same as before departure.She saw him without frowning or embarrassment, on the contrary, she greeted him cheerfully and calmly, thanking him for what he had done for her, especially for bringing her among the people with whom she was now.

After two months of trekking, the changes in her heart were reflected in her appearance.She had grown thin and dark, as if she had aged; her temples and mouth were wrinkled, and she wore a kerchief to stop a lock of hair from falling over her forehead.Regardless of the attire, hairstyle, or attitude towards people, there is no longer the original coquettish taste.Nekhludoff was particularly pleased by this change which had taken place and which was still taking place in her. Now he developed another feeling for her.This feeling is different from the initial poetic infatuation, even more different from the later physical allure, and even different from the mood he decided to marry her after the court judgment to fulfill his duty and satisfy his vanity.He felt pure pity and sympathy for her now, as he had when he first saw her in prison.After he went to the hospital, he tried to restrain his dislike for her, and forgave her the so-called ambiguous relationship with the doctor (later he learned that she had been wronged), and this feeling had become stronger.In fact, it is the same feeling, the only difference is that it was temporary then, but now it is constant.Everything he thought and did now was filled with pity and sympathy, not only for her, but for everyone.

This feeling opened the floodgates of Nekhludoff's soul, and the torrent of love, which had found no outlet, rolled onward to everyone he met. Nekhludoff felt that he had been in high spirits all through this journey, and he could not help being interested and considerate of everyone, from the coachman and the escort to the warden and governor with whom he had dealt. During this period, thanks to Maslova's transfer to the political prisoner corps, Nekhludoff had the opportunity to meet many political prisoners, first in Yekaterinburg, where political prisoners lived freely in one large cell, and later on the road again. He made the acquaintance of the five male prisoners and four female prisoners who were traveling with Maslova.After Nekhludoff got close to the exiled political prisoners, his opinion of them completely changed.

Ever since the beginning of the revolutionary movement in Russia, especially after the events of March 1st, Nekhludoff had always had a dislike for revolutionaries and always held an attitude of contempt.He disliked them, firstly because of the cruel and secret methods they used against the government, especially the brutal assassination, and secondly because they shared a sense of self-important superiority.Through contact with them, he learned that they were often persecuted by the government without reason, and they had no choice but to do so. -------- ①The city of Siberia, originally an area where imperial Russian criminals were exiled, is now called Sverdlovsk.

② Refers to the revolutionary movement of the Russian populists in the 1860s and 1970s. ③ See the note on page 297 of this book. No matter how cruelly so-called criminals are tortured, before and after sentencing, they are treated more or less according to the law.However, when dealing with political prisoners, the shadow of the law is often not seen, just like the Shustova case that Nekhludoff saw and the cases of many new friends he met later.The government's treatment of them is like fishing with a big net: everything caught in the net is dragged to the shore, and then the big fish they need are picked out.As for those small fish, no one cares about them, and they are left on the shore to die alive.This is how the authorities arrested hundreds of people who were obviously innocent and unlikely to endanger the government, and sent them to prison for several years, where they fell ill with consumption, went mad, or committed suicide.They have been kept in prison only because there is no reason for their release. Besides, their detention in the nearest prison is convenient for interrogation, and they can be called to testify on certain issues at any time.The fate of these people, even innocent from the point of view of the government, depends on the temper, leisure and mood of captains of the gendarmerie, police officers, spies, prosecutors, judges, prefects and ministers.These bureaucrats often arrest people wantonly because they are bored or want to show their merits, and then put the arrested people in prison or release them according to their mood or the mood of their superiors.As for the higher-ranking officer, it also depends on whether he has a request for meritorious service, or his relationship with the minister, so that he can decide whether to send the arrested person to the ends of the earth, or put him in a single cell, or sentence him to exile, hard labor, or death.But as long as a noble lady comes to intercede, they can be released.

When people use violence against them, they can only fight back in the same way.Soldiers are usually influenced by public opinion to cover up their bloody crimes and claim that they have made immortal feats.In the same way, political prisoners are always influenced by the public opinion of their group, and they carry out cruel activities at the risk of losing their liberty, life, and everything precious in the world.Not only was it not a crime, it was an act of heroism in their eyes.This explained to Nekhludoff the strange phenomenon why some gentle-natured people, not only could not bear to hurt any living beings, but could not bear to see them suffer, can now kill with their hands as if nothing had happened.Almost all of them believe that under certain circumstances, it is legal and justifiable to use killing as a means of self-defense and the lofty goal of achieving the happiness of the people.They think that their cause is very noble, so they also have a high self-esteem. In fact, this is the result of the government attaching great importance to them and cruelly punishing them.Yes, they had to think very high of themselves in order to be able to bear what they endured.

Nekhludoff approached them, got acquainted with them, and was convinced that they were not quite villains, as some thought, nor quite heroes, as others thought, but Ordinary people, good ones, bad ones, and fair ones, just like anywhere.Some people become revolutionaries because they genuinely believe it is their duty to fight against existing evil forces.But some people choose revolutionary activities only out of selfish vanity.The majority, however, were inclined to revolution out of that desire for adventure and death which Nekhludoff had known in war, and which is common to energetic youths.What makes them superior to the average person is that their moral standards are higher than the accepted moral standards.Not only do they require asceticism, hard work and plain living, sincerity and honesty, and selflessness, but they are also willing to sacrifice everything for the common cause at any time, even giving up their lives.For this reason, among these people, those who are high-level are often far above the average level and become a model of high virtue;That is why Nekhludoff not only respected some of his new friends, but loved them with all his heart, while he kept some new friends at arm's length.