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A character in Resurrection

Katusha Maslova

The illegitimate daughter of a village woman, raised in Nekhlyudov's aunts' house, seduced by him, and convicted of a murder she did not commit.

What they want

At first she wants only to get through the day. Later she wants a life of her own choosing, not Nekhlyudov's penance.

The book

ResurrectionLeo Tolstoy, 1899

A prince sits on a jury and recognises the prisoner as the young servant he seduced and abandoned ten years before.

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Who they are in the book

Spoiler-free

Katusha is half servant, half adopted daughter in the house of two old ladies. After Nekhlyudov leaves her pregnant she loses her place, her child and her good name, and she is working in a brothel by the time of the trial.

In prison she drinks and smokes and is hard to reach. On the road to Siberia she becomes herself again.

How Katusha Maslova Is Portrayed

Appearance, manner, and tone — as the book sketches them, in our words.

  • In the prison corridorIn Book I, Chapter I, she is brought out for trial, a small young woman pale from confinement, with black, sparkling eyes, one with a slight squint.
  • LubovIn Book I, Chapter IX, she tells the court her name is Lubov, then admits she used to be called Katerina.
  • The sentenceIn Book I, Chapter XXIV, she blushes scarlet at the sentence and cries out that she is not guilty, then sinks onto the bench in tears.
  • Save yourself through meIn Book I, Chapter XLVIII, when Nekhlyudov talks of marriage, she tells him he wants to save himself through her in the life to come.
  • Among the politicalsIn Book III she walks with the political prisoners, stops drinking, and grows close to Mary Pavlovna.
  • Her choiceIn Book III, Chapter XXV, told her sentence has been reduced, she says that where Vladimir Simonson goes, she will follow.

Katusha Maslova quotes

Lines spoken by or about Katusha Maslova, each verified verbatim against the text and located in the book.

You've got pleasure out of me in this life, and want to save yourself through me in the life to come.
— Maslova, to Nekhlyudov · Leo Tolstoy, Resurrection (1899), Book I, Chapter XLVIII, translated by Louise Maude
To atone for my sin, not by mere words, but in deed. I have made up my mind to marry you.
— Nekhlyudov, to Maslova · Leo Tolstoy, Resurrection (1899), Book I, Chapter XLVIII, translated by Louise Maude
What have I to consider? Where Valdemar Simonson goes, there I shall follow.
— Maslova, to Nekhlyudov · Leo Tolstoy, Resurrection (1899), Book III, Chapter XXV, translated by Louise Maude
Their ending, and the commentary — spoilers aheadHow the book leaves them, what happened after, and what the record says. Open when you're ready.

Maslova goes into exile with Simonson. Nekhlyudov cannot tell whether she loves Simonson or is refusing him for his own sake, and the novel leaves it open.

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