Simonson's proposal to Maslova

Valdemar Simonson, the ascetic, vegetarian political prisoner who has marched alongside Katerina Maslova for hundreds of miles, takes the decisive step of approaching Dmitri Nekhludoff in a cramped halting-station room to declare his love for Maslova and his intention to marry her. The conversation, which occurs in the presence of Mary Pavlovna Schetinina and the sleeping Vera Doukhova, forces Nekhludoff to confront the possibility that his long-planned sacrifice—marriage to the woman he wronged—may no longer be either needed or wanted. Simonson's proposal, offered with a childlike sincerity that surprises everyone, becomes the catalyst that finally untangles the knot of guilt, duty, and love that has bound the three characters together since the trial.

Simonson's Declaration and Its Grounds

Simonson, who has been lying silently with his arms behind his head, rises with determination and walks up to Nekhludoff, carefully stepping around the seated prisoners. He leads Nekhludoff out of the main room and into a tiny cell that has been set aside for the political women, where Vera Doukhova lies covered up on the bed with a headache. Mary Pavlovna follows them, and Simonson insists she stay, saying he has no secrets from anyone. Speaking with the frankness and seriousness that characterize his every action, Simonson explains that he knows of Nekhludoff's relations with Maslova and therefore considers it his duty to explain his own. He tells Nekhludoff that he wants to marry Katerina Maslova. When Nekhludoff replies that the decision depends on her, Simonson insists that she cannot make up her mind while her relations with Nekhludoff remain unsettled. Nekhludoff states that as far as he is concerned the matter is finally settled: he wishes to do what he considers his duty and to lighten her fate, but will put no restraint on her. Simonson counters that Maslova does not wish to accept Nekhludoff's sacrifice and that this decision of hers is final. She wants Nekhludoff to acknowledge that he thinks as she does. Nekhludoff cannot pretend that he is free not to do what he considers his duty, but he concedes that she is free. Simonson then clarifies that he is not in love with Maslova in the ordinary sense: he loves her as a splendid, unique human being who has suffered much, and wants nothing from her except to help her. If she consents, he will ask to be sent to the place where she will be imprisoned, live near her, and perhaps lighten her fate. He is too agitated to continue. Nekhludoff, moved, says he is very glad she has found such a protector. Simonson asks directly whether Nekhludoff, loving her and wishing her happiness, would consider it good for her to marry him. Nekhludoff answers decidedly, "Oh, yes." Simonson then rises, stretches his lips out to Nekhludoff, smiles shyly, and kisses him, saying he will tell her.

The Emotional and Moral Context

Simonson's proposal is not an impulsive gesture but the culmination of a long, silent courtship that has been developing since Maslova joined the political prisoners. From the moment he first saw her in prison, Simonson's kindly dark blue eyes had gazed at her from under his projecting brow with a peculiar intensity. Maslova, with a woman's instinct, quickly understood that he loved her, and this knowledge raised her in her own estimation. Unlike Nekhludoff, whose offer of marriage was driven by magnanimity and a sense of guilt for the past, Simonson loved her as she was now, simply because of the love he bore her. He considered her an exceptional woman with peculiarly high moral qualities, and she tried with all her might to become as good as possible so as not to disappoint him. Their intimacy grew during the long march, especially when Simonson began walking with the criminal prisoners to be near her. Though they had never had a serious conversation, their looks had long since told them they understood each other.

The Aftermath and Maslova's Decision

After Simonson leaves the room, Mary Pavlovna tells Nekhludoff that Simonson is "quite in love, in the silliest, most boyish manner," and that she finds it strange and sad. She explains that Maslova loves Nekhludoff and is happy to be able to do him the negative good of not letting him get entangled with her, but that his presence troubles her. She suggests Nekhludoff should "partly vanish." When Maslova is called in, she enters briskly, and Nekhludoff tells her that Simonson has spoken to him. She flushes crimson and asks what he said. When Nekhludoff tells her that Simonson wants to marry her, her face puckers with pain. She mutters, "Ah, what does it all mean? Why?" and looks at him with her peculiar squint. Nekhludoff tells her she must decide. She replies that everything has long been decided: she cannot be a wife, a convict, and she will not ruin Simonson too. Nekhludoff suggests the sentence might be mitigated, but she cuts him off: "Oh, leave me alone. I have nothing more to say," and leaves the room. Later, when Nekhludoff brings her the news that her sentence has been commuted to exile, she tells him directly that she will follow Simonson wherever he goes. She says that Simonson wishes her to be near him, and that she must look upon it as happiness. When Nekhludoff asks if she loves him, she replies that loving or not loving does not matter—she has given up all that. She tells Nekhludoff he must forgive her if she is not doing what he wishes, and that he must live, too. Her eyes fill with tears, and she says not "Good-bye" but "Forgive me," pressing his hand and leaving quickly. Nekhludoff understands that she still loves him and is refusing him for his own sake, burning her ships by uniting her fate with Simonson.

Significance and Thematic Weight

Simonson's proposal and Maslova's acceptance of it mark the final resolution of the novel's central romantic and moral dilemma. Nekhludoff's long-planned act of atonement—marriage to the woman he betrayed—is rendered unnecessary by Maslova's own moral agency. She chooses not to be the object of his sacrifice but to make a sacrifice of her own, freeing him from a bond that would have been a burden to them both. Simonson, the "phacocyte" who believes his function is to help the weak and sickly particles of the social organism, offers Maslova a love that is entirely present-oriented, untainted by guilt or the past. His proposal, and her acceptance, allow Nekhludoff to turn from the personal duty of atonement toward the broader spiritual awakening that occupies the novel's final pages. The scene thus serves as the pivot between the novel's concern with individual redemption and its final vision of universal love and forgiveness.