Resurrection

The poisoning was committed by Maslova alone; therefore he begged

the jury to acquit Kartinkin and Botchkova of stealing the money;

or if they could not acquit them of the theft, at least to admit

that it was done without any participation in the poisoning.

In conclusion the advocate remarked, with a thrust at the public

prosecutor, that "the brilliant observations of that gentleman on

heredity, while explaining scientific facts concerning heredity,

were inapplicable in this case, as Botchkova was of unknown

parentage." The public prosecutor put something down on paper

with an angry look, and shrugged his shoulders in contemptuous

surprise.

Then Maslova's advocate rose, and timidly and hesitatingly began

his speech in her defence.

Without denying that she had taken part in the stealing of the

money, he insisted on the fact that she had no intention of

poisoning Smelkoff, but had given him the powder only to make him

fall asleep. He tried to go in for a little eloquence in giving a

description of how Maslova was led into a life of debauchery by a

man who had remained unpunished while she had to bear all the

weight of her fall; but this excursion into the domain of

psychology was so unsuccessful that it made everybody feel

uncomfortable. When he muttered something about men's cruelty and

women's helplessness, the president tried to help him by asking

him to keep closer to the facts of the case. When he had finished

the public prosecutor got up to reply. He defended his position

against the first advocate, saying that even if Botchkova was of

unknown parentage the truth of the doctrine of heredity was

thereby in no way invalidated, since the laws of heredity were so

far proved by science that we can not only deduce the crime from

heredity, but heredity from the crime. As to the statement made

in defence of Maslova, that she was the victim of an imaginary

(he laid a particularly venomous stress on the word imaginary)

betrayer, he could only say that from the evidence before them it

was much more likely that she had played the part of temptress to

many and many a victim who had fallen into her hands. Having said

this he sat down in triumph. Then the prisoners were offered

permission to speak in their own defence.

Euphemia Botchkova repeated once more that she knew nothing about

it and had taken part in nothing, and firmly laid the whole blame

on Maslova. Simeon Kartinkin only repeated several times: "It is

your business, but I am innocent; it's unjust." Maslova said

nothing in her defence. Told she might do so by the president,

she only lifted her eyes to him, cast a look round the room like

a hunted animal, and, dropping her head, began to cry, sobbing

aloud.

"What is the matter?" the merchant asked Nekhludoff, hearing him

utter a strange sound. This was the sound of weeping fiercely

kept back. Nekhludoff had not yet understood the significance of

his present position, and attributed the sobs he could hardly

keep back and the tears that filled his eyes to the weakness of

his nerves. He put on his pince-nez in order to hide the tears,

then got out his handkerchief and began blowing his nose.