Auferstehung (1958)

Prince Dmitri Nekhlyudov is summoned to court as a juror in the trial concerning the poisoning of the merchant Smelkov. The arsenic was said to have been administered to him by the prostitute Katyusha. She had received it from the hotel’s houseman and chambermaid, where Smelkov was staying, but had taken it for sleeping medicine. The servants had been after the merchant’s money. Nekhlyudov recognizes Katyusha as the woman who once worked as a maid for his two aunts. At the time, he was an officer and took advantage of her being in love with him to seduce her. When he returned to his regiment, he left her some money in an envelope and never saw her again. Nekhlyudov arranges to be represented in court on an excuse. He goes to the estate he has since inherited from his aunts and asks Matriona, the elderly housekeeper, about Katyusha. He learns that shortly after his departure she had gone to stay with Agrafena. The old woman Agrafena tells him that Katyusha was pregnant at the time and gave birth to a child who died shortly afterward. She was ill for a long time, then eventually found work in town, but her social standing kept declining until she finally went to the city, where she ended up working as a prostitute. Nekhlyudov returns to the city and is present when Katyusha is found guilty and sentenced to twelve years of hard labor in Siberia. Two jurors believe that Nekhlyudov’s representative, in particular, contributed significantly to the guilty verdict; both consider the judgment unjust because they believe Katyusha is innocent. Only now does Nekhlyudov take action. He visits Katyusha in prison and reveals who he is. He intends to appeal her case. He is disconcerted to see that, as a result of her experiences, Katyusha has become a different woman—one who smokes and drinks—and now refuses his help. It is only her fellow prisoners who make her understand that she can use his connections for the good of them all. The governor silently accepts Nekhlyudov’s efforts on Katyusha’s behalf, but reacts critically when Nekhlyudov also advocates for other prisoners, including the political ones. Katyusha’s privileges are revoked. Nekhlyudov is also unable to get the case reopened in St. Petersburg. Through the Grand Duchess, who is amused by his commitment, Nekhlyudov submits a petition for clemency to the tsar. The male and female prisoners are transported to Siberia. Nekhlyudov follows the train and supplies the prisoners at stops along the way, among other things bringing them mail and cigarettes. He proposes marriage to Katyusha, but she refuses. She does not want him to sacrifice himself for her. When the political prisoner Simonson eventually tells Nekhlyudov that he intends to propose to Katyusha, Nekhlyudov has to sort out his own feelings. He becomes increasingly aware that he truly loves Katyusha. Shortly before the prisoner convoy sets out again, Nekhlyudov receives the letter granting Katyusha a pardon. He has already made plans to move into a house with her, but she refuses to build a life with him. Although she has loved only him, she could not bear the thought that one day he might remember her past. Instead of going with him, Katyusha rejoins the prisoner transport, and he is left behind.