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Chapter 15
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Sofia Petrovna, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Uncertainty and Disbelief
Patriotism and Fanaticism
Pride, Status, and Moral Superiority
Loyalty, Political Allegiance, and Truth
Summary
Analysis
Six months pass. It has been a year since Kolya was arrested, and Sofia still has no idea where he is. He might not even be alive. She, for her part, has finally found part-time work at a library, where she speaks to nobody as she carries out her mundane tasks. She uses the small amount of money she receives to buy canned crab for Kolya. The cans are now stacked high on her windowsill, but she keeps buying more in case there’s a shortage in the markets whenever Kolya is set free. She has written multiple letters to Stalin about Kolya’s case, and she’s unnerved by the suspicion that he has not read them himself.
Amid all of the torturous uncertainty surrounding Kolya’s case, Sofia still clings to idealistic ideas about the government. The mere fact that she would ever think Stalin would personally read her letters highlights just how out of touch she is with the realities of her circumstances. She knows that things are dire, but she still has faith that the government will do what’s right—a faith that is, unfortunately, misplaced.
Themes
One day, Mrs. Kiparisova bursts into Sofia’s apartment and tells her that a group of prisoners have been released. The news gives Sofia hope. She lies in her room thinking about how the government is finally letting innocent people out of jail, which must mean that Kolya will be freed quite soon—after all, he’s innocent, so there’s no reason for him to remain in prison. She knows he was sent away, so she expects to receive a letter from him any day now, thinking that he’ll write to say he’s on his way home.
Again, Sofia demonstrates her enduring belief in the Soviet government’s values and justice system. Instead of considering the possibility that the government released certain prisoners at random, she invests herself in the idea that they’re letting all of the innocent prisoners free. Of course, what she doesn’t consider is that Kolya is guilty according to the government. After all, he signed a confession. But Sofia remains optimistic, refusing to believe that the Soviet government would let a good young man like Kolya continue to waste away in a work camp.
Themes
Sofia runs downstairs to check the mailbox, but it’s empty. When she returns to her room, the nurse and the new house manager throw open the door, and the nurse accuses her of hoarding kitchen supplies. She has, the nurse yells, ruined the “household order.” She also points out that Sofia’s son is in prison, which makes her untrustworthy and unpredictable. The house manager orders her to put the kitchen supplies back, and then they leave. Sofia obeys and then returns to her room, where she sobs loudly in defeat. Degtyarenko’s wife hears her and creeps in to soothe her, telling her that her husband—a police officer—says that many prisoners are being released. Sofia just has to stay strong until Kolya comes back.
Sofia continues to experience social ostracization because of her association with Kolya. She herself didn’t do anything wrong, but the mere fact that her son is in prison makes everyone weary of her. The nurse, in particular, jumps at the opportunity to cast Sofia as an untrustworthy person, ultimately acting morally superior to her and behaving as if Sofia’s social status has diminished because of Kolya’s imprisonment—which, unfortunately, it has.
Themes
