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Part 11: The Forest Army
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Doctor Zhivago, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
History and Agency
Destiny
Social Differences and Social Change
Love and Responsibility
Russian Culture and Christianity
Summary
Analysis
The partisans are joined by their families and other refugees, among them a folk healer named Zlydarikha or Kubarikha—no one knows which is her real name. Winter arrives, the group is forced to convert a temporary camp into a fort for the remainder of the season; located deep in the forest, they are secure from the Whites but also cut off from supplies. Yuri enjoys long walks in the woods and takes a particular liking to a rowan tree he finds hidden in a grove and a sudden cliff with an excellent view over the forest. The partisans choose the latter to execute the moonshiners and conspirators—Vdovichenko included. Teresha begs the firing squad for mercy, but to no avail.
Despite Liberius’s protestations, the partisans are forced to shelter the civilians fleeing the Whites. Kubarikha is a classic Russian folk figure, a woman alleged to possess mysterious powers who draws form Christianity, pagan traditions, and popular culture. The demands of war continue to frustrate Yuri’s attempts to find moments of peace and purity as one of his favorite places to walk and reflect is tainted as it becomes a staging ground for executions, with Liberius seizing the opportunity to eliminate his rival Vdovichenko.
Themes
The partisans are in dire circumstances, surrounded on all sides by the Whites, though the rugged terrain prevents the Whites from laying a proper siege to the camp. The partisans ration food and medical supplies, and Yuri is forced to recruit the moonshiners who were not executed to distill alcohol for medical use. Pamphil Palykh is noticeably happier with his family, but word soon gets out that the refugees will be relocated elsewhere to maintain the soldiers’ discipline, and he becomes depressed once again. The partisans counterattack and break the encirclement, only for even more refugees to flow into the camp. Liberius forces them to turn around and set up a separate camp, a task which the refugee women take to with gusto.
As Yuri has repeatedly witnessed, the harsh circumstances of war force people and movements to compromise on their principles. In this passage, for example, the partisans spare the moonshiners so they can recruit them to produce essential medical supplies. Though Liberius and the partisans grow increasingly frustrated with the refugees, they underestimate the civilians’ ability to organize and defend themselves, as the women’s’ new camp suggests. This demonstrates yet again what Yuri finds to be the Bolshevik’s arrogant and condescending attitude toward the regular people they supposedly represent.
Themes
Yuri observes Kubarikha casting a spell to heal Pamphil’s cattle, elaborately paraphrasing ancient legends as she does so. During one firefight with the Whites, the partisans discover a mutilated comrade left behind as a warning. Before he dies, the comrade tells them about the vicious reprisals being carried out in the cities. This news drives Pamphil over the edge. Determined to save his family from White atrocities, he kills them all himself with an axe. Liberius and Yuri discuss what to do with the now-catatonic Pamphil, but before they come to a decision, Pamphil wanders out of the camp and disappears.
Kubarikha offers Yuri yet another example of the radically different nature of provincial life, language, and society, much like Vakkh did in Varykino. The relative peace of the partisan camp is broken by the news of what is happening outside, however, as the increasingly desperate White Army becomes more and more violent and oppressive. Pamphil experiences a kind of psychic break, revealing what happens when violence, fear, and hopelessness push a man over the edge.
Themes
Winter drags on. Yuri asks Liberius about Varykino and their respective families, but there is no news—all Liberius knows is that they are not in Varykino. In the war more broadly, the Red Army now has a decisive advantage and is pursuing the fleeing Whites eastward.
At this point in history (likely the winter of 1920-21), the Red Army had triumphed in Ukraine and northern Russia, and the focus of the war shifted toward Siberia, where the remnants of the White Army retreated towards the Far East. The countryside, however, remained devastated, and lines of communication and the spread of news was slow and unreliable.
Themes
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Yuri decides to leave. He retrieves a pair of skis and bag of supplies he hid in the woods earlier. In the forest he is stop by a sentry, but the guard apologizes for not recognizing him and accepts the doctor’s excuse that he just wants to pick berries from the nearby rowan tree, as the partisans all consider Yuri to be a charming eccentric. Yuri stops by the tree, tells himself he will see his own “dearest rowan tree” soon, and sets off into the snow-covered nighttime taiga.
Yuri’s preparations for his escape and the moment he chooses to leave suggest that he could have departed earlier but, growing accustomed to the partisans, chose to wait—at least subconsciously—until he knew he was no longer needed. Yuri responds to the partisans’ fondness for him with sympathy if not loyalty, but his true loyalty is now not even to his family, but to the dream of Lara, his “dearest rowan tree.”
Themes
