The good and evil of human nature sometimes become a Buddha in one thought, and become a demon in one thought. The protagonist, Nekhlyudov, originally had the most simple and beautiful first love, but because of a momentary thought, he destroyed it. And the innocent, pure, longing for a beautiful love girl, but the person she loves the most thrown into the brothel, reduced to become the plaything of others.
Many years ago, a female serf who had never been married would inexplicably give birth to a child every year, because the female serf was so poor that these children seemed to her to be a burden, and five children in succession, all of which she threw into the livestock shed when they were born.
Because they were not fed, the poor children soon starved to death. In this year, the female serf ran out again to get pregnant with passers-by and gave birth to her sixth child.
The fate of this child and the children before her should have been the same, and she was placed in a cattle shed, quietly waiting for Death to take her out of this world. However, her cries attracted two unmarried, lonely and lonely aristocratic old maids.
The two men looked at the crying child, who had never been a mother, and they were moved by compassion, picked up this lovely baby girl, and named her: Maslova.
Although Maslova grew up in an aristocratic family, due to the different temperaments of the two noble old maids, the sister was grumpy and very strict with Maslova, she believed that Maslova was not her own child after all, and should be her own maid and be sent at will. And the sister?
She looked at Maslova's big eyes like a gooseberry, very beautiful, and she also recognized Maslova as her adopted daughter from the bottom of her heart.
But neither of them would give up the child they had picked up to the other, so Maslova grew up as half maid and half adopted.
Although Maslova lost her parents at a young age, she is full of love for life, even when doing some complicated farm work, she does not complain at all, she is always full of beautiful expectations for the future.
That year, Maslova was sixteen years old, and her figure had gradually become plump, and she was so eye-catching from a distance. It just so happened that the nephews of two old virgins were coming here for a vacation. The boy, who was about the same age as Maslova, was named Nekhlyudov.
Because Nekhlyudov has always grown up under the wings of his mother, he has not yet a clear understanding of the outside world, and in his heart there is no distinction between high and low status, he is still a pure and kind teenager at heart.
In the days of his aunt's family, Nekhlyudov and Maslova had a happy time, and the ignorance of childhood made them quietly approach each other, but they did not understand exactly what such a relationship was called. Once, Maslova and Nekhlyudov played a game of "catching people" in the field, agreeing on who would be caught first, and the victor's way of expressing victory was to hold each other's hands tightly.
Nekhlyudov conceded defeat, and he spent half a day trying to catch the small and light Maslova. Not far away, Maslova, with a smile on her face, lifted her skirt and faced the wind, running quickly towards Nekhlyudov and holding Nekhlyudov's hand tightly. Nekhlyudov felt his heart being electrocuted, crispy and numb.
The game was over, but neither of them let go of each other's hands first, and Maslova moved a little closer to Nekhlyudov, and Nekhlyudov moved towards Maslova little by little. Seeing that Maslova was not dodging, Nekhlyudov quietly kissed Maslova's warm red lips.
Maslova was startled at first, then slowly closed her eyes in response to Nekhlyudov. Since then, the relationship between the two seems to have undergone subtle changes, and Nekhlyudov's mind always recalls Maslova kissing herself with her little red face, and his heartbeat has also "banged" and accelerated.
Sometimes, Nekhlyudov just saw her white apron from a distance, and everything seemed to be illuminated by the sun in his eyes, everything became more interesting, faster, more meaningful, and life became more joyful because of Maslova's appearance. And Maslova felt the same way in her heart.
Gradually, the two noble old maids seemed to perceive this delicate relationship, and although the sister loved Maslova from the heart, she absolutely did not allow it, and Nekhlyudov fell in love with Maslova. The two old maids, who called their brother overnight, sent Nekhlyudov away.
Even Nekhlyudov himself was still confused about whether he really had a love affair with Maslova, but when he was parting, Nekhlyudov saw Maslova looking at him with tearful, slightly squinting black eyes, and he realized that he was abandoning something beautiful, precious, and never to return. This holiday, perhaps in the hearts of both people left a good memory of each other.
A few years had passed, and Maslova had been hiding in her heart the teenager who had kissed her in the field. However, Nekhlyudov, who had stepped into the aristocratic glitz circle, had already forgotten Maslova. Today, he has many more fox friends who covet pleasure, and he is no longer the ignorant teenager who did not understand it.
He hangs out with his friends all day, drinks and talks, and sometimes plays with a few women and cruelly abandons them. Occasionally, Nekhlyudov would feel a little uneasy in his conscience, but seeing that the people around him were living in this way, even more excessively and cruelly than himself, he buried the last bit of conscience, and his heart was at ease and happy.
Today, Nekhlyudov, obscene, dirty, and selfish, constantly indulges his lusts and seeks physical pleasure, and he even openly fornicates with a married woman in disregard of ethics and morality, or duels with his friends in order to rob a woman.
Once Nekhlyudov thought that his spiritual existence was the real me, but now what? He believed that the strong, erect animal was himself. Nekhlyudov fell, he blended into the filthy aristocratic society, and regarded the poor as dung.
Somehow, Nekhlyudov suddenly wanted to stay at his aunt's house for a few days, and he sent a letter to his aunts and set off. Arriving at his aunt's house, Nekhlyudov saw Maslova at a glance, and this time, he knew clearly that he wanted the girl. After years of not seeing, Maslova has become more playful and cute, and those bright eyes are still so clear and pure.
Maslova also saw Nekhlyudov at a glance, he seemed to be more mature than ever, and there was something emanating from Nekhlyudov's body, which Maslova did not like, but Maslova herself did not know what it was. Nekhlyudov passed by Maslova consciously or unconsciously, his hand seemed to touch the hem of her skirt, and Nekhlyudov's heart itched, and Maslova looked like a real angel.
At that moment, Nekhlyudov thought that he had come here this time, all for Maslova. At first, Nekhlyudov tried his best to restrain himself from doing anything deviant to Maslova. Maslova deeply loved the handsome young master in her heart, and once his tenderness was still vividly remembered in Maslova's heart, she had no defensive heart for Nekhlyudov.
From Maslova's warm eyes, Nekhlyudov understood that this kind girl was still infatuated with herself. Nekhlyudov felt a little proud that he had such a great charm that Maslova had been unforgettable to herself for many years.
On the last night, Nekhlyudov was finally unable to overcome his own overflowing lust, and his inner beastliness extinguished his last conscience, and he tricked Maslova into his room and threw her down on the bed, ignoring Makhlyudova no matter how hard she struggled.
Maslova's eyes widened, and she couldn't believe that the lewd man who was now rudely tearing her clothes was the pure teenager she loved, her eyes were full of tears, begging for forgiveness, but to no avail. Nekhlyudov finally raped Maslova.
After finishing the matter, Maslova was distraught, did not say a word, did not look at Nekhlyudov more, but struggled to get up from the bed, dressed haphazardly, and silently left the door. Nekhlyudov looked at Maslova's departing back and suddenly felt the whole room become gloomy.
There was fear in him, but he kept reassuring himself that this kind of thing is common, that everyone is like this, yes, everyone is like this. Nekhlyudov himself kept repeating it, and gradually, his heart felt some peace, and he went to bed again.
The next day, when Nekhlyudov was leaving, he came to Maslova's room and threw down a hundred roubles. Nekhlyudov thought that this money was enough to compensate. And Maslova said nothing and did nothing. Shortly after Nekhlyudov left, Maslova was horrified to find herself pregnant, and she did not know what to do, so she told the two noble old maids.
The two became furious when they learned that it was Nekhlyudov's child, scolding Maslova for debauchery, and at this time they only thought of the family's reputation and completely forgot their years of relationship with Maslova. Without hesitation, they threw Maslova out of the house. Poor Maslova, there was no place to stay.
She was determined to use the money she had only to go to the city to find Nekhlyudov. However, when Maslova went through all kinds of hardships and finally saw Nekhlyudov, she fell into a deeper despair. She saw Nekhlyudov shaking his cup and sitting in a velvet chair talking and laughing with others, and at that moment, Maslova finally understood that The Nekhlyudov and herself were completely two worlds apart.
Maslova sat on the cold bench and cried bitterly, she thought of death, but touched her stomach again. Soon it was raining heavily in the sky, Maslova was drenched in rain, her face was full of mud, exhausted, at that moment, Maslova, who had once believed in goodness, had a huge change in her heart, she would no longer believe in the goodness in God's mouth, and everyone was just racking their brains to deceive.
Maslova had nowhere to go, she became a street prostitute in order to survive, and the child died quietly and silently in the days after birth.
Nekhlyudov continued to live his life of debauchery and depravity, and even though he sometimes felt bored and tired, he was afraid of being ridiculed by others, and continued to reluctantly integrate into this hypocritical aristocratic society. He gradually forgot about the Maslova he had hurt, but God did not want this poor girl to be sacrificed in vain.
Years later, when Maslova reappeared in front of Nekhlyudov, a prisoner framed by the nobility for money, the trial court dragged Maslova to the court, and at this time, one of the men sitting in the jury seat was Nekhlyudov.
Nekhlyudov couldn't believe that the once beautiful angel could now be reduced to a prostitute with a dirty mouth and a big mouth, and he felt a great sense of self-blame in his heart, was it that he had harmed Maslova like this?
Ignoring Maslova's resistance, the judge hastily convicted her and dragged her back to prison, and Nekhlyudov could not help but come to the prison to visit Maslova, and Maslova recognized at a glance that this well-dressed, ruddy-faced man was Nonekhlyudov, but Maslova just smiled at him charmingly, thinking about how to get some more benefits from him.
Maslova seduced Nekhlyudov and teased Nekhlyudov, thinking that Nekhlyudov was still interested in her own body when she came to visit, and she proposed a price of a few hundred rubles, and said that she would definitely satisfy Nekhlyudov.
Nekhlyudov stared at the once pure girl who was now so disheveled and debauched, and the self-blame in his heart deepened.
He vowed to get justice for Maslova and to clean herself up. Hearing him say this, Maslova was stunned, but in the blink of an eye she smiled sarcastically at him. How could Maslova easily believe Nekhlyudov today? This time, however, Nekhlyudov kept his promise and ran around for Maslova.
In the process of clearing maslova's grievances, he learned more deeply about the decay and darkness of the whole high society, the poor are not only the playthings in the hands of the rich, they are discarded at will, and even when the rich commit some unforgivable crimes for their own doing, they will casually find someone to be the scapegoat. As long as they have money, even seemingly impartial judges will kneel at their feet.
Nekhlyudov felt pain, and he was extremely remorseful that he had been in cahoots with these people and hurt Maslova. Despite Nekhlyudov's best efforts to help Maslova, Maslova was sentenced to four years of exile in Siberia.
In prison, Nekhlyudov fell to his knees in front of Maslova, weeping bitterly, cursing his past crimes, and saying that he would marry Maslova to make up for his sins against Maslova.
This time, Maslova was moved, and at that moment she seemed to have vented all the hatred she had accumulated in her heart for Nekhlyudov, and Maslova collapsed and cried, but still rejected Nekhlyudov's marriage proposal.
In order to atone for his sins, Nekhlyudov decided to accompany Maslova to exile in Siberia, he sold his land and distributed his property to poor peasants, while he himself was exiled to cold Siberia with Maslova like a torturer.
Maslova often looked at this Nekhlyudov who was suffering by her side, and she seemed to see the simple and kind teenager when she was sixteen years old again.
Maslova's heart had already fallen back in love with Nekhlyudov, quit smoking and drinking for him, and abandoned the debauchery and frivolity of the prostitutes she had once been a prostitute, and at this time, she had changed back into the simple and kind girl who was full of love in her heart.
But when Nekhlyudov once again proposed to Maslova, Maslova knew clearly that the current Nekhlyudov was no longer love for himself, but a kind of atonement. Maslova, in order to preserve Nekhlyudov's reputation, rejected him again.
At this time, Simmons, a political prisoner sentenced to exile for making a revolution, began to take the initiative to talk with Maslova and Nekhlyudov, and in the process of getting along, Simmons's calm and calm demeanor made both Nekhlyudov and Maslova feel admiration.
Simmons preached revolutionary ideas to them, which made Nekhlyudov fall into contemplation. Although Nekhlyudov did not fully agree with Simmons's statement, he could never find a correct way to save Russian society.
Because they are also suffering poor people, Maslova and Simmons feel more comfortable with each other, and Simmons also feels pity because she knows Maslova's life experience. Finally, two young people of the same class came together.
The love in Maslova's heart was resurrected, and she reaped her own happiness. Looking at Maslova's happy smile, Nekhlyudov's heart finally stopped feeling pain, and he often read religious books, where he searched for his soul's home.
This time, Nekhlyudov heeded Maslova's persuasion and returned to his home. He gave unconditionally all the land left by his ancestors to the peasants, severed all ties with all aristocratic friends, and officially declared a complete break with the aristocratic society he hated.
Nekhlyudov himself returned to the countryside and worked with the peasants. Although Nekhlyudov, who had never done farm work, was often tired, his soul was truly resurrected. Looking at the vast field, Nekhlyudov, dressed in the peasant's worn-out cotton and linen clothes, felt that his heart was particularly peaceful.