Two months

Two months is a recurring temporal interval in Resurrection that marks the duration of Maslova's imprisonment before trial, the period of her life as a prostitute before her arrest, the time Nekhludoff spends traveling with the prisoner convoy, and the span during which the most decisive inner changes in both protagonists unfold.

Duration of Imprisonment and the Trial

Maslova is confined for more than three months before her trial, but the two-month period is specifically invoked in relation to her life in the brothel. She lives the life of a prostitute for seven years, and in the seventh year, at age twenty-six, the event occurs for which she is imprisoned and tried. The two-month interval also appears in the context of her pregnancy: five months after Nekhludoff betrays her, she knows she is to be a mother, and the child is born after a confinement that is easy but leads to infection. The midwife, who has a case of fever in the village, infects Katusha, and her baby boy is sent to the Foundlings' Hospital, where he dies. The two-month period is thus linked to the consequences of her betrayal and the loss of her child.

The Journey with the Convicts

After joining the political prisoners, Maslova marches with the criminal convicts for two months. During this time, she undergoes a visible physical and psychological transformation. She grows sunburned and thinner, and seems older; wrinkles appear on her temples and around her mouth. She no longer wears ringlets on her forehead, and her hair is covered with a kerchief. In her dress and manners, there is no trace of coquetry left. This change, which has taken place and is still progressing, makes Nekhludoff very happy. The two-month period of marching with the gang is the crucible in which her moral rebirth is forged, as she is no longer molested by the men and lives among the political prisoners who exercise a beneficial influence on her character.

Nekhludoff's Spiritual Transformation

For Nekhludoff, the two months of traveling with the prisoner convoy are a period of intense moral and spiritual awakening. During this time, he feels a constant pity and tenderness not only for Maslova but for everybody. This feeling seems to have opened the floodgates of love, which had found no outlet in his soul, and the love now flows out to every one he meets. He becomes attentive and considerate to everyone, from the coachman and the convoy soldiers to the prison inspectors and governors. The two-month journey is the period in which he comes into contact with the political prisoners, learns their stories, and begins to understand the true nature of the criminal justice system. He sees the convicts not as strange and terrible creatures but as human beings, and this recognition is the foundation of his moral resurrection.

Thematic Significance

The two-month interval functions as a structural and thematic marker in the novel. It measures the time of suffering and transformation, the period during which the most profound changes occur in the lives of the protagonists. For Maslova, it is the time of her imprisonment and her journey to Siberia, during which she moves from a state of despair and self-destruction to one of moral clarity and self-sacrifice. For Nekhludoff, it is the time of his spiritual awakening, during which he moves from a life of selfishness and luxury to one of service and love. The two-month period is thus not merely a chronological detail but a symbol of the possibility of radical change and redemption.