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Resurrection · Question
How does Resurrection end?
Answer
Novel closes on Siberia road: Maslova and Simonson among exiles; Nekhludoff moved by New Testament, accepting he cannot possess Maslova’s future. Political prisoners, bureaucratic snarls, and partial land reforms remain open loops — Tolstoy intentionally denies neat utopia.
Ending fits late Tolstoy: ethical demand without guaranteed victory. Readers track Nekhludoff from jury box to marching prisoner of conscience — resurrection as direction, not destination.
Evidence in the book
- Nekhlúdoff's Classification of Prisoners and His Search for Justice
Late march scenes and spiritual reading.
- XXXI
Final movement toward exile and open future.