God Sees the Truth, but Waits

“I dreamt you returned from town, and when you took off your cap I saw that your hair was quite grey.”

This line, spoken to Aksenov by his wife, foreshadows Aksenov’s misfortunes and subsequent spiritual transformation. In her dream, Aksenov’s wife sees Aksenov returning home with gray hair, and Aksenov’s hair does indeed turn gray over the course of his long imprisonment. Parables or folktales often contain such dreams or visions that foreshadow plot developments in some way.

“This morning the merchant was found in bed with his throat cut. You are the only person who could have done it. The house was locked from inside, and no one else was there. Here is a blood-stained knife in your bag, and your face and manner betray you!”

With these words, the police arrest Aksenov for the murder of the merchant after finding a bloody knife in his luggage. Though Aksenov did not commit the murder, the judicial authorities, who draw their conclusions from mere appearances, wrongly conclude that Aksenov is guilty. The episode establishes the injustice of human judgment.

“When he remembered that his wife also had suspected him, he said to himself, ‘It seems that only God can know the truth; it is to Him alone we must appeal and from Him alone expect mercy.’”

These are among the most important lines in the story. When Aksenov finds out that even his wife suspects him of murdering the merchant, he realizes that only God can know the truth and that only God can provide justice. This realization of Aksenov’s is one of the central themes of the story.

“For twenty-six years Aksenov lived as a convict in Siberia. His hair turned white as snow, and his beard grew long, thin, and grey. All his mirth disappeared; he stooped; he walked slowly, spoke little, and never laughed, but he often prayed.”

These lines highlight the extent of Aksenov’s punishment: his years in a Siberian prison and the toll of his imprisonment on his body. His hair turns gray, as foreshadowed in the dream his wife had before he set out on his business trip. The quote also juxtaposes Aksenov’s suffering in the earthly realm, where he endures the bodily punishment of the judicial system, with his development in the spiritual realm as he increasingly devotes himself to divine justice.

“The world’s full of rumors. But it’s a long time ago, and I’ve forgotten what I heard.”

When Aksenov begins to suspect that Makar was the true murderer of the merchant, Makar answers his queries with these cryptic words. In concealing the truth from Aksenov, Makar underscores the difficulty of ascertaining the truth in the earthly world of appearances, which is “full of rumors” that may obscure the truth that God alone sees.

“First there was the image of his wife as she was when he parted from her to go to the fair […]. The thought of it all made him so wretched that he was ready to kill himself.”

Here, Aksenov is consumed by anger when he suspects that Makar was the man who committed the murder of which he was convicted. As he thinks of everything he has lost, Aksenov shows that he has not managed to give up his earthly attachments after all and that he remains very much attached to his family. Aksenov’s anger, born of his stubborn earthly attachments, nearly leads him to commit the ultimate sin in Christian teaching: suicide, or the denial of God’s mercy.

“You keep quiet, old man, and you’ll get out too. If you blab, they’ll flog the life out of me, but I’ll kill you first.”

Makar speaks these words when Aksenov discovers his attempt to escape. Here, he illustrates a few important points. First, he highlights the focus of the judicial system on bodily punishment when he says that the authorities will “flog the life” out of him if they discover his escape attempt; second, he shows his own violent nature when he threatens to kill Aksenov if he reports him.

“He thought, ‘Why should I protect someone who ruined my life? Let him pay for what I’ve suffered. But if I tell, they’ll probably flog the life out of him, and maybe I suspect him wrongly. And, after all, what good would it be to me?’”

When the authorities question Aksenov about the tunnel, he seriously considers reporting Makar and making him “pay” for what he made Aksenov suffer. However, he ultimately decides against doing so, reflecting that he may suspect Makar wrongly. Aksenov thus recognizes the limitations of his own perspective and rejects human judgment in favor of divine justice.

“I cannot say, your Honor. It’s not God’s will that I should tell! Do what you like with me; I’m in your hands.”

After debating internally whether to report Makar’s attempt to escape to the authorities (and thus have his vengeance against the man who ruined his life), Makar decides that it is God’s will he keep silent. Significantly, he does not lie: He says simply that he “cannot say” who is responsible and that it is “not God’s will” that he should speak. With these words, Aksenov chooses to trust divine justice over human judgment, reiterating that it is not for him—or any other human being—to judge another person.

“It was I who killed the merchant and hid the knife among your things. I meant to kill you too, but I heard a noise outside; so I hid the knife in your bag and escaped through the window.”

Overcome by the mercy Aksenov showed him, Makar confesses his guilt to Aksenov, explaining that he killed the merchant and framed Aksenov. We finally learn the truth that God has “seen” all along.

“[F]orgive me! For the love of God, forgive me! I’ll confess that it was I who killed the merchant, and now you’ll be released and you can go home.”

Makar shows himself unable to bear the moral imbalance between Aksenov and him: While he has harmed Aksenov, Aksenov has helped him. Makar thus begs Aksenov for forgiveness. Makar does not realize, as Aksenov does, that true forgiveness can come only from God.

“Where could I go now? My wife is dead, and my children have forgotten me. I have nowhere to go…”

At first, Aksenov refuses to forgive Makar. When he laments that he has nowhere left to go, he shows that he retains earthly attachments—above all, his attachment to his family. This attachment prevents him from fully devoting himself to God and realizing that forgiveness is not even his to give.

“‘God will forgive you!’ he said. ‘Maybe I’m a hundred times worse than you.’ At these words his heart grew light and the longing for home left him. He no longer had any desire to leave prison, but only hoped for his last hour to come.”

In what is probably the most important passage of the story, Aksenov realizes that forgiveness, like truth and justice, can come only from God. This realization unburdens him of his strongest earthly attachment—his attachment to his family. Like Prince Andrey in War and Peace, Aksenov thus moves to a higher spiritual state and wishes only for death.