It's apparent neither of you have read the novel
LOL, of course I read the novel (several times). That's where the part about Marina and her daughters comes from, and also many other differences from book to film. As for the "entire point" of both film and movie being that Yuri represents Russia -- I beg to disagree. It is one point, and a major one, but there are a number of others, equally important. These include the dilemma of the individual vs. the collective, the pressure to conform to ideology rather than to take responsibility for one's own beliefs, commitments and actions, the lack of agency of the individual, especially in turbulent times (Zhivago is basically a passive character who is our window on his world; this is a device in other Russian novels as well), how idealism and idealists are corrupted in their implementation, how individuals' lives are torn apart by war and social upheaval, and they are oppressed by the State (Pasternak is critical of Communism, but doesn't give the absolutist czarist regime a pass either).
The book, like many other Russian novels (
Brothers Karamazov is a good example) is full of long and involved philosophical and ideological discussions, and the characters are more three-dimensional than in the film. Zhivago does not come out a hero; he betrays his own ideals and his last years are mired in failure and a sense of futility. Strelnikov comes off better than in the film, as his love for Lara is a constant and his idealism, while thwarted and twisted, never gets completely stamped out.
It's interesting to read the two major Eglish translations and note some differences. The most recent is reputedly more true to the poetic spirit of the original Russian, and has a lyrical quality the earlier (1958) translation lacked.
As for why Yuri did not leave Russia -- that brings us back to another major point, that Yuri in many ways is a personification of Pasternak himself, who was torn between love for two women (and, like Zhivago, others), love for beauty and art, in contrast to the ugliness all around him, and passionate love of Russia. Yuri could not, in practical terms, have left the country even had he wished to do so; Pasternak, too, rejected the idea of leaving although his situation was of course different but both staying and going were fraught with peril.
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