Originally Posted by Karen 26th September 2006


On page 10, Samarin's pamphlet states that there are 3 categories of women according to Samarin's Catechism of a Revolutionary

They are:

"first those frivolous, thoughtless and vapid women that we may use...."

"second, women who are ardent, gifted and devoted but do not belong to us because they have not yet achieved a real, passionless and practical revolutionary understanding..."

"finally there are the women who are with us completely, that is who have been fully initiated and have accepted our programme in it's entirety. We should regard these women as the most valuable of our treasures, whose assistance we cannot do without."

What category does Anna fit in? Is there more than one? What about Katya?

Nurseanne8


I think that Katya fits in the third catagory-illistrated when she trips Samarin when he is attempting to take the bomb from her-and runs off with the bomb. Anna seems to fit in the second castagory-I did not gather that she had any real interest in the ideals of the revolution but she understood what she had to do to survive in order to provide for herself and her son. I feel that if a sequel were completed by Meek she would move into the third catagory-since she chose to remain in Russia to be a photographer for the state newspaper (Red).

Karen


I think Anna easily fits into both the second and third categories. I think she stays true to herself, rather than a revolution or idea. And in that case, she's strong and centered. What I am trying to decide is if she is looking out for herself or for her child or both. But I digress, more about that later.

Herestoyou


***CAUTION spoiler may follow if you haven't read the whole book***

I think Anna in relation to Samarin falls into category #2. He really did use her to achieve his own goal. Anna senses some danger from Samarin but is willing to overlook that to achieve her own satisfaction. When Samarin tries to get her to understand the "cannibal" as she expresses horror when he brings it up, he rephrases it in that chilling line about would she accept the cannibal if he killed/ate to return to the woman he loved. She states she would like that better, so I don't see her in category #3.

Katya would fall into #3 as for not only the bomb incident, but the effect she had on Samarin which we don't find out until later in the book. Wasn't she really part of the catalyst for what Samarin did going to the White Garden?

Deppraved


I love the character of Anna Petrovna because she was very complex and therefore believable.

If I had to choose her "type", it would be #2, but at times it would seem she could fit #1, and in the end you could imagine she was heading toward being more like a #3..so I guess that would make her all three types.

That's the problem with doctines--life isn't so neat an tidy and explicable.

Katya, on the other hand, was young and impressionable, an idealistic searcher, just the type to fall prey to a cult or radical philosophy.

Whatever else she was or could have been, she became #3, the most valuable, someone expendable for the cause.