The Awakening, also published as The Resurrection, is Leo Tolstoy’s profound novel of guilt, justice, and spiritual renewal. Prince Dmitri Nekhlyudov is forced to confront his past when he recognizes a woman he once wronged among the accused in a criminal trial. Determined to make amends, he follows her through courts, prisons, and exile, witnessing corruption, inequality, and the harsh treatment of society’s most vulnerable people. Tolstoy combines moral reflection with powerful social criticism, questioning law, privilege, punishment, and institutional authority. Deeply compassionate and thought-provoking, the novel explores repentance, responsibility, human dignity, and the possibility of personal transformation.