God Sees the Truth but Waits: Leo Tolstoy

 

Summary

In the story the author’s deep-seated faith in God and moral values are expressed.

Innocent man charged with murder

In Vladimir, a young, attractive businessman named Ivan Dmitrich Aksionov lived with his wife and children. Although in his youth, he had gone to the hands of the devil living a carefree life, he had now settled down and lived a responsible and productive life. One day he decided to make a trip to a fair where he could sell some of his merchandise. His wife objected to his trip saying that she had a bad dream about this trip. Aksionov ignored her apprehension and proceeded. On the way, he stopped at an inn, where he met another merchant he knew. They stayed at the inn in rooms next to one another. Being an early bird, he proceeded at dawn. After traveling twenty-five miles, however, he was intercepted by a local police officer. He questioned him closely about the time he had spent at the inn. He claimed that the other merchant had been found with his throat slit. Aksionov seemed a likely suspect since he knew the man and since they shared neighboring rooms. Aksionov vehemently denied any involvement in the murder. However, when his bag was searched, a blood-stained knife was found.

Circumstantial evidence

Although Aksionov protested claiming innocence, he was arrested and charged with the murder. Even his wife wondered if he might have been involved since the circumstantial evidence was convincing. A petition to the Czar for clemency was turned down. Aksionov bade his wife and young children farewell, reflecting that only God knows the truth, he waited. As his wife also suspected him, he stopped petitioning to Czar. After being severely flogged, he was sent to work in the mines in Siberia. During his twenty-six years of imprisonment there, his hair had turned grey. His cheerful personality disappeared, and his body began to weaken. He never showed any signs of happiness and frequently prayed to God. Faith lessens sorrow. While imprisoned, he became a bootmaker. He earned some money to buy a book called The Lives of the Saints. He read this book whenever there was light. On Sundays, he took a prominent role in religious services and sang in the choir of the prison church. The wardens and guards appreciated his humility. Other prisoners regarded him with respect, calling him “Grandfather” and “The Saint.” He became their representative when they needed to deal with the authorities. They trusted him so much that they treated him as a kind of judge, who could settle disputes and disagreements amongst them. Meanwhile, he had no information about his family nor any contact with them. He thought that they might all be dead, for all he knew.

Reviving old wounds – a new discovery

When a new shipment of prisoners arrived one day, Aksionov eventually realized that one of the men, Makar Semyonich was from his own hometown. In response to Aksionov’s questions, Maker informed him Aksionov’s family was prosperous. Maker seemed to know Aksionov somehow, leading the latter to wonder if Makar knew, anything about the murder of the merchant. Maker’s reply led Aksionov to begin to suspect that it was Maker who had in fact committed the crime. Tormented by painful memories and by a sense of all the years he had lost, he eventually accused Makar, privately, of having murdered the merchant. Makar ignored the accusation even though Aksionov had caught Makar trying to dig a tunnel to escape the prison. Aksionov could easily have reported this deed to the authorities. But he chose to keep quiet, even after Makar threatened him with death. When the tunnel was eventually discovered, no one would identify Makar as the culprit who had been doing the digging. Governor believed Aksionov won't tell lies, who was closely questioned by him. He denied knowing who had been digging. He did not want to see Makar harshly punished. He even started wondering if he had wrongly suspected Makar of murdering the merchant.

 

Transformation of a criminal 

 

Later that night, Makar came to Aksionov’s bed and begged him for forgiveness. He confessed that he had indeed killed the merchant and had hidden the blood-stained knife in Aksionov’s bags. He offered to confess to this crime so that Aksionov could be released from prison and go back to his home and family. Makar continued to beg Aksionov for forgiveness, especially since Aksionov had not revealed what he knew about Makar and the tunnel. Both men were soon weeping. Aksionov said “God will forgive you! Maybe I am a hundred times worse than you.” Having said this, he suddenly felt a load leave him. He no longer cared about leaving the prison. He only desired death.

 

Makar did eventually confess to having killed the merchant. Ironically, by the time Aksionov’s pardon arrived, he was already dead.

Understanding the text

Answer these questions.

a. What bad habits did Aksionov have before his marriage?

 

As a young man, he went to the hands of the devil and was riotous. However, after he married he settled down with his happy family although once in a blue moon, he took alcohol.

 

b. What can be the meaning of his wife's dream?

 

His wife interpreted her dream to be an omen of a misfortune that may befall her husband. However, he laughed at the interpretation and went ahead in his plan to attend the fair to sell his merchandise.

c. Why did Aksionov think of killing himself?

 

When he realized and confirmed that it was Makar who had killed the merchant and framed the murder case against him by hiding the blood-stained dagger in his bag, he lost all his hopes of life. In his mind, he saw the place where he was flogged, the executioner, and the people standing around; the chains, the convicts, all the twenty-six years of his prison life, and his premature old age. This thought made him feel so bad that he was ready to kill himself. However, he was not that coward to take his life.

d. Why did Makar disclose that he had killed the merchant?

 

Makar disclosed that he had killed the merchant because he was overwhelmed at the gratitude shown by Aksionov for not disclosing the truth about the digging of the tunnel. Aksionov had caught Makar red-handed committing the crime, yet he kept his mouth shut when Governor interrogated him about finding the person digging the tunnel wall under the shelf.

e. Why doesn't Aksionov wish to return to his family at the end of the story?

 

Aksionov doesn't wish to return to his family at the end of the story because he believes that his wife was dead, and his children have forgotten him. He was happy to die to seek the salvation of his soul.

Reference to the context

a. . "Well, old men,” repeated the Governor, “tell me the truth: who has been digging under the wall?"

i. Who is that old man?

ii. Which truth is the speaker asking about?

iii. Which wall does the speaker mean?

i. The old man referred to above was Aksionov

ii. The speaker is asking about the truth of digging a tunnel by the wall under the shelf.

iii. The speaker means the wall of the prison.

b. Describe Aksionov's character.

Aksionov, being the protagonist of the story, was a successful young merchant who lived his life happily with his wife and children. His routine and established life came to disruption when he is wrongly framed for murder and ordered for rigorous imprisonment in a prison in Siberia. His wife’s suspicion of his guilt makes him conclude that he can only rely on God who knows the truth; who is guilty or innocent. While serving his jail term, he earns a reputation as an honest inmate among the prison authority and fellow prisoners. At one point, after realizing that the man who had framed him for the murder charge lives with him in the same jail, he is ready to kill himself. However, at the end of the story, he forgives Makar Semionych. He dies shortly before the authorities issued him his release order.

c. What is the theme of the story?

The story is the store-house of multiple themes like that of injustice, acceptance, faith, and forgiveness. The case against Aksionov is not convincing and the police and the judges did not take into consideration the motive of the crime. The sentence of rigorous imprisonment was solely issued on the basis of circumstantial evidence. They declare him guilty only at the recovery of the blood-stained knife and without recovery of twenty thousand rubbles stolen from the merchant. The repeated appeal to the Czar for clemency is outright rejected, Aksionov accepts the injustice to which he is subjected is impossible to correct. To derive the supreme judgment, he submits himself to the will of God. In prison, he cultivates humble and placid characteristics and spends weekdays in and religious celebration. The prison authority has a kind gesture towards him for his honesty and impartiality in resolving arguments. His devotion to the almighty becomes firm with the passage of time. He believes he deserves the torturous life as it is ordained in his life as destiny. He is hesitant to disclose the truth about Makar Semionych although this man spoiled his entire life framing him in a wrong murder case. He offers forgiveness to Makar Semyonich.

d. Which symbols are used in the story and what do they indicate?

The story employs multiple symbols for its artistic effect. Aksionov’s house and two shops stand for his happy family and material possessions. The prison itself is a symbol of his suffering and a platform for his final spiritual transformation. His gray hair speaks for his undeserved suffering, highlighting his aging as also his physical decay meted out to him by undue punishment. His grey hair suggests how the stress and strain of wrongful confinement brought his aging earlier than his age. The blood-stained knife discovered in his bag speaks of his lack of self-control and hostile fate. This is also the single most circumstantial evidence to order his severe imprisonment. The book ‘The Lives of the Saints’ Aksionov buys represents his religious devotion and firm faith in God as the supreme judge of his actions.

Reference beyond the text

a. What role does religion play in Aksionov's life? How does he undergo a spiritual transformation in the story?

Christianity plays a crucial role in the transformation of the character of the protagonist. He spends his greater part of life in a Siberian jail acknowledging his sins and anticipating impartial judgment at the hands of God. Suspicion of his own wife over his guilt encourages him to rely on God alone for mercy, truth, and judgment. Imprisoned for a staggering 26 years, he loses his youthful cheerfulness and becomes deeply religious. In prison, he learns to make boots and earns a little money, with which he buys the book ‘The Lives of the Saints’ and reads it. On Sundays, in the prison-church, he conducts masses and sings in the choir. The prison authorities develop kind gestures towards him for his humility, humbleness, honesty, and impartiality. His fellow-prisoners respect him calling him ‘Grandfather’ and ‘The Saint’. Even after identifying the murder of the merchant he is able to forgive him. He rises to greatness for accepting undeserved suffering acknowledging it to be his destiny.

Aksionov’s spiritual transformation is remarkable in the story. Before the imprisonment, he is carefree and enjoys materialistic life. Despite his rejection of the legitimacy of the state that has jailed him, he realizes that the reason he is suffering in Siberia is to pay for his sins. He considers his miseries as a test of faith that gives him a chance to achieve salvation by reforming his character and devoting his life to God.