Maslova and Simonson

Maslova and Simonson's relationship develops during the Siberian march, where Simonson, a political prisoner of exceptional moral seriousness, falls in love with Maslova and proposes marriage. This bond, grounded in Simonson's principled love and Maslova's desire to spare Nekhludoff, becomes the decisive resolution of the novel's central romantic entanglement.

Origins and First Impressions

Simonson first notices Maslova during a common visiting day in prison, where his kindly dark blue eyes gaze at her from under his projecting brow. Even then, Maslova recognizes him as a peculiar man, struck by the combination of sternness—the unruly hair and frowning forehead—with childlike kindness and innocence in his look. She sees him again in Tomsk, where she joins the political prisoners, and though they have not yet exchanged a word, their looks tell plainly that they have understood one another. Simonson is a vegetarian who refuses to wear the skin of slaughtered animals, and he walks with the criminal convicts rather than avail himself of a class privilege. His love for Maslova is Platonic; he considers himself a phacocyte, whose function is to help the weak and sickly, and this love, he believes, inspires rather than hinders his activity.

Simonson's Proposal to Nekhludoff

Simonson takes the decisive step of speaking to Nekhludoff about his intentions. He explains that he wants to marry Maslova, not because he is in love with her in the ordinary sense, but because he loves her as a splendid, unique human being who has suffered much. He wants nothing from her, only an awful longing to help her and lighten her position. Simonson reveals that Maslova will not come to any decision without Nekhludoff, because as long as his relations with her are unsettled, she cannot make up her mind. Nekhludoff, though surprised by the trembling in Simonson's voice, gives his consent, saying he is very glad she has found such a protector. Simonson then asks if Nekhludoff, loving her and wishing her happiness, would consider it good for her to marry him. Nekhludoff answers decidedly in the affirmative. Simonson rises, stretches his lips out to Nekhludoff, smiles shyly, and kisses him.

Maslova's Decision and Its Meaning

When Nekhludoff later speaks to Maslova about Simonson's proposal, she flushes crimson and asks what it all means. She declares that she has nothing to decide, that everything has long been decided. She refuses to ruin Simonson, saying she is a convict and cannot be a wife. But when Nekhludoff presses her, she finally states that where Valdemar Simonson goes, she will follow. She explains that he wishes her to be near him, and she must look upon it as happiness. Nekhludoff asks if she loves him, and she replies that loving or not loving does not matter; she has given up all that. She calls Simonson quite an exceptional man. The real reason for her decision, Nekhludoff understands, is that she loves him still and thinks that by uniting herself to him she would be spoiling his life. By going with Simonson, she believes she is setting Nekhludoff free. She feels glad that she has done what she meant to do, yet she suffers at parting from him. When she says goodbye, she does not say "Good-bye" but "Forgive me," and her eyes meet his with a strange look that confirms this interpretation.

The Nature of Simonson's Love

Simonson's love for Maslova is entirely principled and asexual. He is a man who settles and verifies everything according to his own reason, and he has formulated a religious teaching that considers celibates as phacocytes whose function is to help the weak and sickly. His love for Maslova does not infringe this conception because he loves her platonically, and such love, he believes, cannot hinder his activity as a phacocyte but acts, on the contrary, as an inspiration. Mary Pavlovna, who knows both of them well, observes that Simonson is in love in the silliest, most boyish manner, and she finds it strange and sad. She believes that his love, though masked as Platonic, is at bottom the most ordinary man's feeling. Nevertheless, Maslova feels that Simonson considers her to be an exceptional woman with peculiarly high moral qualities, and she tries with all her might to awaken in herself the highest qualities she can conceive, striving to be as good as possible.

Consequences and Resolution

Maslova's decision to go with Simonson frees Nekhludoff from his self-imposed duty to marry her, a duty that had seemed hard and strange to him in his weak moments. Yet Nekhludoff feels something not merely unpleasant but painful. He experiences a feeling that Simonson's offer destroys the exceptional character of his sacrifice, thereby lessening its value in his own and others' eyes. There may also be an admixture of ordinary jealousy, as he has grown so used to her love that he does not like to admit that she loves another. The decision also upsets his plans of living near her while she serves her term. Kryltzoff, the dying political prisoner, compares the situation to the mathematical problem of the three bodies—the sun, moon, and earth—referring to the relations between Nekhludoff, Katusha, and Simonson. Nekhludoff replies that the decision does not lie with him. Ultimately, Maslova's choice to follow Simonson represents her final act of moral agency, rejecting Nekhludoff's sacrificial offer in favor of a relationship built on mutual respect and a shared commitment to a higher purpose.