Resurrection · Question
How does Resurrection develop the theme of Hypocrisy of Religion and Morality?
Answer
Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy develops Hypocrisy of Religion and Morality across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
The book critiques institutional religion and conventional morality, showing how priests, judges, and society at large perform pious rituals while ignoring genuine compassion and justice, as seen in the Easter mass scene and the priest's role in the courtroom.
The persecution of the Doukhobors for their religious beliefs underscores the hypocrisy of state and religious authorities.
The verses challenge the reader to examine their own faults before judging others, highlighting religious hypocrisy.
The contrast between Nekhlúdoff's luxurious lifestyle and his professed ideals about land and justice.
Evidence in the book
- Translator's Preface
The persecution of the Doukhobors for their religious beliefs underscores the hypocrisy of state and religious authorities.
- Epigraph
The verses challenge the reader to examine their own faults before judging others, highlighting religious hypocrisy.
- III
The contrast between Nekhlúdoff's luxurious lifestyle and his professed ideals about land and justice.
- VI
The Skoptzý case is manipulated to ensure conviction by a peasant jury, showing how religious persecution is used for political ends, while the president's moral hypocrisy is evident in his extramarital affair.
- VIII
The priest's mechanical administration of the oath contrasts with the moral gravity of the situation.
- XIII
Society praises Nekhlúdoff's vices (gambling, womanizing) while mocking his virtuous acts (giving land to peasants, limiting needs), exposing the hypocrisy of aristocratic morality.
- XXI
The prosecutor's moralizing tone and invocation of 'society's danger' contrast with the actual lack of concern for truth or fairness.
- XXVI
The Korchágins' refined manners and liberal talk mask their moral emptiness and cruelty.
