Perm

Perm is the pivotal Siberian city where the long journey of the convict gang, including Katerina Maslova, undergoes a decisive transformation. After traveling by rail and steamboat from Moscow, the prisoners reach Perm, and it is here that Nekhludoff, through the intercession of Vera Doukhova, finally secures the permission for Maslova to leave the criminal convicts and join the political prisoners for the remainder of the journey. This change, which occurs after the gang has already walked about three thousand three hundred miles, fundamentally alters Maslova's experience of exile and becomes the setting for her most profound inner change.

The Journey to Perm and the Change in Maslova's Condition

The journey up to Perm had been extremely trying for Maslova, both physically and morally. Physically, she suffered from overcrowding, dirt, and the constant torment of vermin. Morally, she was subjected to the relentless and disgusting importunity of the male convicts, who, like the vermin, changed at each halting place but were everywhere the same. The habit of cynical debauch was so firmly established among the prisoners and guards that Maslova had to be in a constant state of fear and strife to defend herself, a struggle made more difficult by her attractive appearance and known past. Her position was made slightly easier by her friendship with Theodosia and the protection of Theodosia's husband, Taras, who had himself arrested to accompany his wife. However, it was only when she was allowed to join the political prisoners in Perm that her condition became much more bearable. The political prisoners were provided with better accommodations, better food, and were treated less rudely, but most importantly, Maslova was no longer molested by the men and could live without being constantly reminded of the past she was so anxious to forget.

The New World of the Political Prisoners

The chief advantage of the change at Perm was that Maslova made the acquaintance of several persons who exercised a decided and most beneficial influence on her character. Among the political prisoners, she met Mary Pavlovna Schetinina, a beautiful and selfless girl who had given up a life of privilege to serve the people, and Valdemar Simonson, a deeply principled and eccentric man who fell in love with her. The motives that guided these people—their sacrifice of privilege, liberty, and even life for the common people—were ones Maslova understood easily and sympathized with fully. She was charmed by them, and particularly loved Mary Pavlovna with a respectful and rapturous love. This new fellowship opened out to her a life full of interests she had never dreamed of, and she came to see her sentence not as a punishment but as a blessing, saying, "Why, I must thank God for it all the days of my life. I have learned to know what I never should have found out else."

Nekhludoff's Observations and the City's Significance

Nekhludoff only managed to see Maslova twice before Perm, once in Nijni and once in the Perm prison office, where he found her reserved and unkind, her depressed state a result of the molestations she was undergoing. It was only after she joined the political prisoners that he saw how unfounded his fears for her were, and at each subsequent interview he noticed the inner change he so desired becoming more and more marked. The city of Perm thus serves as the geographical and symbolic threshold where Maslova's degradation ends and her moral and spiritual rebirth begins, facilitated by the humane environment of the political prisoners and the love of Simonson. It is the place where the novel's central theme of resurrection becomes a tangible reality for its heroine, setting the stage for her final, decisive choices about her future.