Sofia Petrovna Essay Matthew Klammer

Sofia petrovna is a book about one individuals difficultys in coming to terms with reality. Sofia, the books main protagonist, is a devoted yet powerless individual within the communist system she believes so strongly in. sofias absolute trust in the system is made possible by her insignificant role, which plays perfectly to her naivety. Her faith in the system is put to the test when her son Kolya is taken into custody for crimes against the communist party. This sends Sofia on a journey of introspection that forces her to come face to face with the reality of the world around her.

Sofia represents perhaps the ideal citizen of Stalinist Russia. She trusts the government to a fault, has no apprehensions about the system, even going as far as to believe that anyone who disagrees with the government must be amoral. She lives and works peacefully, accepting modest living conditions and limited freedom. Kolya's loyalties are less proven, but while they seem not to be as strong as Sofia's they clearly are not outside of a socially acceptable level. One thing that stands somewhat against the grain for a socialist dictatorship is the active role Kolya takes in politics. He makes many attempts to reach a better understanding of the system and his beliefs. This means that his mothers child-like devotion to the party is not the ideal in Kolyas mind, mostly because he believes that she doesnt truly understand what she follows.

Unfortunately, Kolya's individualistic and introspective views create some minor vulnerabilities. When Kolya is arrested Sofia cannot bring herself to believe that ether the state nor Kolya is wrong. She instead chooses to believe that her troubles are all born from a elaborate misunderstanding, and decides to attempt to have everything sorted out. This inevitably leads to her first real confrontation with Stalins terror machine.

As Sofia soon learns, information in soviet Russia is a precious commodity. The state uses limited information to control her in many ways. First and foremost, Sofia lives in a fantasy world held together by propaganda and lies. Her whole world view has always come directly from the party line. This lack of understanding makes it all the more difficult for her to combat the system when she begins to peel back the layers of reality.

When Sofia attempts to learn more about her sons arrest she is met with a startling revelation. Countless other people are also in her situation. This forces her to come to terms with yet another aspect of the fantasy that she has accepted as reality. Unfortunately, Sofia is weak of character and is unable to reconcile the truth with her understanding. She condemns the others, believing instead that the government could not have made so many mistakes and that they all are likely there for a good reason.

Sofia Petrovna is ultimately a book about one mother struggle to come to grip with reality. She never receives the answers she seeks. While she eventually receives a letter from her son, it fails to provide and real closure. The book leaves its plot very open ended, but we still come to fully understand the depth of her struggle. The lack of a true resolution is pivotal to recreating the reality of life in soviet Russia.

This system of strong nationalist propaganda paired with a restricted flow of information made for a difficult system to fight against. Most notably, its acceptance of guilty until proven innocent, created a atmosphere of mistrust between individuals that limited resistance. Even more terrifying was the prospect of the unknown. Without knowing whether a loved one was dead or alive served to spread despair rather than contempt, which helped keep the afflicted masses in line.

Sofia in particular serves her role as the books protagonist well. She represents a ideal Russian, thrust into a position that tests all her beliefs about a system she placed her trust in. where the book told from Kolyas perspective, it would have much to relate it to the firsthand accounts of holocaust victims. While this might make for a stirring tale, it would tell us little of how the purges affected those it left behind. Without Sofias naive view, the book would loose a simplicity that better connects it to the plight of the lower class soviet workers.

Ultimately, Sofia Petrovna is more of a window than a story. The characters could be replaced with many other victims throughout the history of the purges, and the effect would remain relatively the same. Sofia is just another painful story, another grain of sand, that sits before a great beast in history. In much the same way as Night by Elie
Wiesel affects the psyche; Sofia Petrovna leaves a haunting reminder to one of historys darkest chapters.