God Sees the Truth but Waits
Introducing the Author
Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy (1828 – 1910) was a Russian writer and a master of realistic fiction. He was born in a wealthy family in Russia. His parents died when he was a child. He was brought by his elder brothers and relatives. He studied languages and law at Kazan University for three years. He was dissatisfied with the school and left Kazan without a degree. Then he returned to his estate and educated himself independently.
What is the story about?
Tolstoy’s short story ‘God Sees the Truth but Waits’ is about the false conviction and imprisonment of a man for a murder he didn’t commit and it takes the form of a parable for forgiveness.
Characters
Aksionov (Full name - Ivan Dmitritch Aksionov)
Aksionov is the protagonist of this story. He is a young merchant in the town of Vladimir. He has two shops and a house of his own. He has a stormy and violent history. He was handsome, fair-haired, curly -headed, full of fun and very fond of singing. He used to drink and be riotous before his marriage. But he is an honest and hardworking merchant now. He became the victim of the false conviction and imprisonment of a man for a murder he did not commit. Ignoring his wife’s dream, he left home for Nizhny fair to sell goods and was arrested for the murder of the merchant with whom he spent night sleeping in adjoining rooms. He was sent to jail for twenty years in Siberia and died before the order for his release came.
Makar Semyonich
Makar is the antagonist of the story. He is the real murderer of the merchant. He killed the merchant and put the blood-stained knife into Aksionov’s bag. He reached the same prison where Aksionov was spending twenty-six years of imprisonment in Siberia. He tried to escape by digging a hole under the wall of the prison but he couldn’t. Finally, he confessed his crime to Aksionov and asked for apology.
Understanding the text
Answers these questions
a. What bad habits did Aksionov have before his marriage?
He had habits of drinking and fighting before his marriage. But he immediately gave up such bad habits after he got married.
b. What can be the meaning of his wife’s dream?
The meaning of his wife’s dream can be the sign of bad luck. The dream looks ominous for Aksionov. Her dream suggests that her husband shouldn’t have started that day.
c. Why did Aksionov think of killing himself?
When he knew Makar was the killer of the merchant, he recalled all his past in the jail and the days with his wife and children. He also recalled the moment when he was arrested and his premature old age. This recollection of his past to present made him think of killing himself.
d. Why did Makar disclose that he had killed the merchant?
Makar disclosed that he had killed the merchant because Aksionov did not say anything about Makar’s attempt to escape from the prison by digging a hole under the wall. When the Governor made a query about the person who dug the hole, Aksionov denied to open his mouth about it even he knows the truth. Aksionov’s this act of saving him from the Governor made him feel ashamed and realize his mistake.
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 because he is sure that his wife is dead and his children have forgotten him. He thinks that he has now nowhere to go. Thus, he has given up his desire to return home but hopes only for his last hour to come.
Reference to the context
a. “Well, old man,” repeated the Governor, “tell me the truth: who has been digging under the wall?”
i. Who is that old man?
The old man is Aksionov.
ii. Which truth is the speaker asking about?
The truth of digging the hole under the prison’s wall. It was dug by Makar to escape.
iii. Which wall does the speaker mean?
The wall of the prison where the convicts were kept.
b. Describe Aksionov’s character.
(Please see the characterization section)
c. What is theme of the story?
The main theme of the story is that the truth uncovers one day but one has to wait for the right time to come. Criminal can’t escape forever, however, there is possibility of false conviction and imprisonment of one who has not committed the crime. Even an innocent one can be the victim of unfair justice system as it happens in Aksionov’s life.
d. Which symbols are used in the story and what do they indicate?
A symbol is a person, object, action, place or event that, in addition to its literal meanings, suggests a more complex meaning or range of meanings. Conventional symbols such as prison, shops and house, bad dreaming, horse, etc., are used in the story. Prison symbolizes end of happiness and loss of freedom; shop and house symbolize prosperity; bad dreaming symbolizes a sign of bad luck; grey hair symbolizes the waste of youth and a horse is a conventional symbol of death. Makar himself is a symbol of greed and corruption since his greed forces him to commit double crime in a single matter.
Reference beyond the text
a. What role does religion play in Aksionov’s life? How does he undergo a spiritual transformation in the story?
Religion simply means the belief in the existence of a god or gods and the activities that are connected with the worship of them, or in the teaching of a spiritual leader. Aksionov has deep belief on God since he keeps on praying until his last breath. He was terribly frustrated when he came to know even his wife suspected him. Perhaps, it was the most difficult time for him in life. He was falsely convicted and became a murderer in the eyes of the ones those who know him and have heard about the crime. However, he never given up his conviction that only God knows who is innocent and who is guilty. Thus, the position of God in his religion is sacred and high. It is his faith on God that consoles him even when he loses the entire family.
He undergoes a spiritual transformation in the story as he gives up the idea of revenge. He had a chance to take revenge with Makar but he saved him from being convicted in the charge of digging a hole under the wall of the prison. The book ‘The lives of the Saints’ might have encouraged him to act like a Saint does. At the end of the story, Aksionov tells Makar that God will forgive him. He had gained a special position in the jail. His reputation in the prison is that of a mediator and the one who always tells the truth. He earned such a remarkable position only because of his religious conviction or deep faith on God.
b. What does the story tell us about the existence of unfair system of justice?
The story tells us that justice system is not always fair. Even an innocent man is convicted in some cases. This means there is the existence of unfair justice system as well. Justice system doesn’t give space to the spiritual purity. It looks at only evidences or proofs and witnesses but bypasses the hidden reality. Regarding this matter, the phrase ‘Andho Kanun’ is popular in Nepal indicating the existence of unfair justice system that may victimize innocent people. Unfair justice system encourages even a cold – blooded murderer to walk free. In the story, Aksionov is convicted and sent to jail only on the basis of evidence, i.e., the blood-stained knife. There is no any murder motive and reliable ground to reject his innocence. This is a vivid example of the existence of unfair justice system.
