Russia

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Fyodor Dostoevsky was born in Moscow, Russia to a family of seven. His father was a surgeon and alcoholic who worked in a hospital in one of the worst parts of the city, and as a youth he was exposed to many criminals and peasants who came in the hospital which later would influence his work. Both of his parents died when he was in his late teens, leaving him to grow up on his own. It is rumored that his father was killed by angry peasants due to his treatment of his patients. He was drafted into the Russian military for a short period of time. He was taught engineering and mathematics, which he grew to despise. Literature definitely became his forte. Later in life Dostoyevsky grew very liberal in his politics and convictions and was a part of a literary club with a few colleagues. He was arrested for this activity as the Tsar saw it as underground activity prone to revolution, which occurred often in 19^th century Russian. Dostoyevsky was exiled in Siberia to a
“gulag”, a hellish work camp with unbearable cold and backbreaking work. This changed his whole philosophy on life and influenced his writings more than anything. He became detached from Western ideas and developed his own theories on suffering and submission.

Russian History and Influence

As a purely psychological novel, key factors in influencing the character Raskolnikov are history, setting, and environment. Russia is very enigmatic and mysterious to the rest of the world, as it has experienced periods of isolation and detachment from the influence and culture of the rest of the world. As a result, Russian literature is highly different than the Western canon, with key authors such as Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy. However, during the novel’s time period of mid nineteenth century, Russia was going through a period where it was quite similar and open to its neighbors in Europe. The Romanov family, who ruled from the 1800s until the communist revolution in 1917, was very accepting to foreign culture and often tried to emulate countries such as Germany and France. However, during this time a massive gap developed between the aristocracy and the lower class peasants, and life was very difficult for those at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder. In the novel, Raskolnikov falls under this category, and lives in the poorest section of St. Petersburg. It undoubtedly affects him as his financial condition causes him to act irrationally and question the very ethics of society. Why is he in this situation, why can he not kill and steal if it is justified by a good cause? Questions like these hover in his mind. Money is definitely a variable in his decision-making and actions.

**Interesting--Raskolnikov may have received his names by the event known as "Raskol" where the Russian Orthodox Church split into two groups. Nikov, the church patriarch, brought sweeping reforms to the church and many disagreements and disputes ensued. Religion probably impacted Dostoevsky's existentialism and philosophy in writing Crime and Punishment.

Character Analysis

Rodion Raskolnikov- Raskolnikov is the protagonist in the novel Crime and Punishment, written by Fyodor Dostoevsky. The story is told entirely from his point of view, which offers a unique perspective on a murderer’s guilty conscience and justification for his actions. His name is derived from the Russian word “raskolnik”, meaning schismatic or divided. This basically sums up Raskolnikov’s attitude towards society. He feels that every person that he comes in contact with is out to get him. Alienation is his most fundamental trait as a protagonist. This trait leads him to believe that he is above the typical moral standard for all humans. His murder of Alyona and Lizaveta Ivanovna are justified, in his mind, because he is under the impression that he can choose who deserves to live or die. And yet, his weakness is illustrated through his fainting at the mentioning of the murderers due to his overwhelming guilt. With the progression of the novel, Raskolnikov begins to ponder a confession more and more. Although this is apparent, he never once questions his reasoning for the murders. To him, the murders were justified through his “above the law” attitude. Much is learned about Raskolnikov’s personality by observing his interactions with the other characters in the novel. He is oblivious to his friend’s attempts to help him due to his obsession with his crime. When compared to Sonya, he is proved flawed. Sonya sacrifices herself through prostitution, in order to help her family. While on the other hand, Raskolnikov commits his crime through his own sake alone.

Sonya Marmeladov- Sonya is a very timid and bashful character. She remains devout to her family among the marital problems between her parents and her father’s drinking problem. Sonya is forced into prostitution as a last ditch effort to help support her family. Much of this is due to her father’s habitual drinking and unemployment. At first, Sonya is intimidated by Raskolnikov. Raskolnikov carries a daunting disposition because he is under constant delirium and is quite unpredictable. Among this fact, Sonya still has carries the capacity to love Raskolnikov and care for him during his troubled times. Raskolnikov feels that he can relate to Sonya because she also is stepping over the line that seperates morality and immorality. Sonya represents a plethora of subjects that Dostoevsky wanted to address; such as the ill-treatment of women, the destruction that poverty can contain, and the importance of devotion to family.

Dunya Romanovna- Dunya is Raskolnikov’s sister and contains many of the same traits as him. But in most other ways, she is Raskolnikov’s foil. Whereas he is self-centered and tends to intellectualizing, she is self-sacrificing and shows endless compassion. The relationship between Dunya and Raskolnikov is always based on mutual love and respect, but it swings from one extreme of emotion to the other as Raskolnikov slowly approaches the moment of confession. In many ways, Dunya is more mature than her brother. While he grows angry and dizzy confronting Luzhin, she remains confident and in control, even when she becomes just as angry. She is the strongest female character in the novel. Although Sonya appears equally strong, Dunya is not timid and crushed by poverty. Dunya is certainly one of the heroes in this novel. It is only appropriate that she and Razumikhin marry at the end.

Svidrigailov- Svidrigailov is one of the most mysterious characters in Crime and Punishment. There is no question, however, that he is a known villain. But other than his attempted rape of Dunya, all of his crimes have been put behind him. Another interesting trait that Svidrigailov possesses is that he knows that he cannot force reality to conform to his deepest desires. In this way, he also serves as a foil to Raskolnikov. In the end, the rejection that Dunya gives in his attempt at sharing his love compels him to commit suicide. He dies with dignity.

Razumikhin- This is Raskolnikov's fellow student and only friend from the university. Razumikhin takes care of Raskolnikov while he is ill and then takes care of Raskolnikov's family when Raskolnikov abandons them. He is in many ways the foil to Raskolnikov: friendly, sociable, and humble. Both are intelligent, but Razumikhin does not fall into the trap of hyper-rationalism as Raskolnikov does; he maintains his perspective and can see the dangers of the new ideas that have corrupted Raskolnikov. Razumikhin falls in love with Dunya and pledges himself to take care of her and her mother forever. In the end, his marriage to Dunya makes this possible.

Pulcheria Alexandrovna- This is Raskolnikov's mother. She writes to Rodya early on in the book, telling him about Dunya's experience with the Svidrigailovs and her eventual engagement to Luzhin. Though she tends to romanticize things and perhaps get carried away, Pulcheria sees a good deal, which comes out in the end especially, when she falls ill and in her delirium betrays her suspicion of her son's fate, which till then has been kept from her.

Pyotr Luzhin- This is Dunya's fiancé at the start of the book. Luzhin, who had worked himself up from nothing, is vain and worships his money. He feels that Dunya, in her poverty, would make the ideal humble and grateful wife, and is astonished when he loses her to his own folly. He attempts to win her back and discredit her brother by framing and slandering Sonya, but it does not work.

Alyona Ivanovna- This is the pawnbroker whom Raskolnikov sets out to murder and rob. Usually referred to as "the old crone," she is hateful and quite rich, though she hoards up her money like a miser. After his first business encounter with her, Raskolnikov becomes obsessed with the question of whether it is more just to let her live or to kill her and use her money for the benefit of the many who could use it.

Lizaveta Ivanovna- This is the half-sister of Alyona Ivanovna. Lizaveta is virtually enslaved by her half-sister. Because of her honesty and fairness, she acts as a middleman for poor families which need to sell their things and make a profit. Lizaveta walks in when Raskolnikov is busy robbing Alyona Ivanovna, having murdered her. Desperate, he kills Lizaveta as well. Later he finds out that she had been a friend of Sonya's. This only stirs his guilt even more.

Katerina Marmeladov- Katerina is the unfortunate wife of Marmeladov. She had been born into something of a more upper-class family, married a first abusive husband, had three children by him, and then was rescued by the pathetic Marmeladov. Katerina Ivanovna nevertheless slaves over her family and loves them all, including her irresponsible husband, and her stepdaughter Sonya, whom she had put into prostitution for the sake of the family. Katerina Ivanovna is extreme in her loves and hates, mocks those whom she considers inferior by birth, places great emphasis on breeding and lineage, and tends to exaggerate the importance of herself and her friends. On the day of her husband's funeral and memorial meal, chaos erupts and, having been kicked out of the apartment by the landlady once again, Katerina Ivanovna rushes out and drags her children onto the street to sing for money. She collapses, and is rushed to Sonya's apartment, where she dies. Her death is one that does not need much morning. She represents all that poverty can do to a single human being.

Summary Pt. 2

At the start of this section Raskolnikov gets in his nervous and crazed mood again as he and Razumikhin enter Porfiry Petrovich’s house and start to talk to him about the murder. At the mention of the case of the old woman Raskolnikov gets very nervous and gets the attention of Porfiry, starting to suspect Raskolnikov of the murder. Raskolnikov, realizing Porfiry is trying to play mind games with him and trying to catch him into confessing the crime, ends up leaving with Razumikhin from Porfiry’s house. Back in his room, Raskolnikov tries to convince himself that Alyona’s life was not worth anything and is questioning at this point whether he is truly the untouchable “superhuman” he thought he could be after he committed the murder. Pondering these ideas he falls asleep and wakes up to find Svidrigailov, former employer of Dunya in his room. He confesses to Raskolnikov his feelings for Dunya and talks about how his wife had recently died. He then tells Raskolnikov that he has learned of Dunya’s arranged marriage to Pyotr Petrovich Luzhin, one of his relatives, which he promises to break off for Raskolnikov. Svidrigailov claims to Raskolnikov that he can no longer bear to love or marry Dunya because he is an unsuitable husband and that he wants to give her ten thousand rubles that his former wife left to to Dunya in her will, even though he doubts she will accept it. After this conversation Svidrigailov leaves the apartment, leaving Raskolnikov to meet up with Razumikhin who has spoken to Petrovich and Zamyotov who both believe Raskolnikov is the murderer in the old woman case. The pair then meet up with Luzhin, Dunya and Pulcheria Alexandrovna at a restaurant nearby. Luzhin resolves that the two women be punished for having the two men in his presence and eventually this leads to another fight between Luzhin and Raskolnikov. Luzhin then blames his loss of Dunya on Raskolnikov and eventually is made to leave Dunya. After he leaves, Raskolnikov succeeds in convincing Dunya to meet with Svidrigailov to get this sum of money that is promised to her. Following his dismaying departure from the group, Raskolnikov visits Sonya in her room to talk about her family as well as the murdered Lizaveta, revealed to be her friend. She then reads him the story of Lazarus, which motivates them to tell her of his plan to separate from his family and asks her to join him as someone who has transgressed moral law. Without knowing Svidrigailov is eavesdropping in the nearby room, Raskolnikov tells her that she will find out who killed Lizaveta soon. The next morning he goes to the police station to talk with Petrovich who ends up trying to trap him again into confessing. The two argue on until the prisoner under suspicion of the murders, Nikolai, confesses to the crime in the office. After this strange occurrence Porfiry apologizes to him but is still suspicious of him. At this point Raskolnikov believes that he will get away with the murder and succeed like he thought he could at the beginning of the novel. From this scene the novel switches the scene of Luzhin in his room along with his roommate, Andrei Semyonovich Lebezyatnikov, with whom he discusses the waste of time and money he spent on the broken engagement of him and Dunya. Luzhin then invites Sonya into his room to express his condolences and to give her a ten-ruble note, while secretly slipping a one hundred-ruble note in her bag. After Sonya leaves, the next scene begins at Marmeladov’s memorial banquet, which turns out to be a disaster for Katerina Ivanovna, disappointed by the amount of lower-class guests actually there. During the banquet Ivanovna ends up getting in another fight with her landlady, drawing attention of everyone there. Just as the fighting surmounts, Luzhin arrives and Katerina Ivanovna runs over to him to find some sort of protection.

            Luzhin brushes Katerina aside as she seeks his protection from the landlady and suddenly accuses Sonya of stealing a one-hundred-ruble note. Sonya denies the theft and Katerina becomes incensed at the insult to her stepdaughter and starts raving against Luzhin and the landlady. Though they find the note in Sonya’s pocket, to Luzhin’s horror, Lebezyatnikov appears and declares that he saw Luzhin place the note in Sonya’s pocket earlier. Raskolnikov understands now Luzhin’s motives that he was probably trying to embarrass him about his association with Sonya. Luzhin, faced with the complete ruin of his plan, tries to extricate himself by maintaining his innocence and insulting Lebezyatnikov and Raskolnikov. After he leaves, the fight between Katerina Ivanovna and the landlady ensues and the Marmeladovs are evicted. Later on Raskolnikov visits Sonya in her room and after he tells her that her family is getting evicted he confesses to the murder. Sonya responds with pity and promises to support Raskolnikov and not abandon him. She is shocked when he tells her that his poverty was not the motive, but rather that he wanted to be a supernatural being, such as “Napoleon”. Instead of lamenting his faults, Sonya simply gives him advice and is seen almost as a symbol of Raskolnikov’s inner conscious or even guardian angel. She tells him that he has been punished for turning away from God and that he must confess publicly for God to give him peace. At first he resists, but he soon consents to Sonya’s advice. Just then Lebezyatnikov enters to tell the two of Katerina Ivanovna’s madness that she has developed, all of the sudden making her impoverished children sing in the streets to raise money. The stress that she had on her shoulders and the grief that struck her for her husband and for her family and its situation eventually kills Katerina, who dies in the streets just like Marmeladov. A haze settles over Raskolnikov in the next couple of days following Katerina Ivanovna’s death and his confession to Sonya. He wanders the streets, hanging around bars and outside the building in which Sonya lives in. As the gloominess sets in, Razumikhin appears at Raskolnikov’s to tell him that Pulcheria Alexandrovna is heartbroken and feels abandoned. Razumikhin finally seems to have lost patience with Raskolnikov’s selfishness, now that he has seen the pain that it causes his family. After Razumikhin leaves, Porfiry Petrovich appears to talk to Raskolnikov to get him to confess once again. Here Petrovich claims that Raskolnikov is the true murderer, which he denies even though he is tempted to confess. Sympathetic to Raskolnikov, Porfiry urges him to turn himself in and confess because it would look better in the eyes of the judge if he confessed before the evidence was produced. Before leaving, he asks Raskolnikov to leave a note disclosing the location of the stolen loot should he decide to commit suicide. Next Dunya meets with Svidrigailov who tells her that he overheard Raskolnikov confessing to the murders of Alyona Ivanovna and Lizaveta, shocking Dunya. Svidrigailov then offers to help Raskolnikov avoid punishment if she will marry him. In horror, she runs to the door, only to discover Svidrigailov has locked it. He threatens to rape her, warning that he can report her brother if she reports him. She pulls out a revolver, threatens him with it and accuses of poisoning his late wife. He dares her to fire, and she does, twice, but it just manages to graze his temple. Svidrigailov appears to embrace her, but realizes that she will love him and lets her go. Realizing this sad fact, Svidrigailov puts her revolver in his pocket and walks out. In the evening he goes to visit Sonya, who he assures to her that her siblings will be provided for and offers her a three-thousand-ruble bond, telling her that she could use it to accompany Raskolnikov to Siberia. The strange dreams not only affect Raskolnikov but also Svidrigailov, especially the ones he has when he sleeps at a local hotel later that night. Strange enough, he dreams of putting a five year old girl that he finds in the hotel to bed and also dreams that rain is flooding St. Petersburg. He wakes just before dawn in a daze and, as if affected by the dreams he had that night, puts the revolver to his head and kills himself. The same day Raskolnikov tells Sonya that he has come to pick up his cross and starts to walk toward the police station, dreading public humiliation of a confession. At the Haymarket, he kisses the ground, but jeers from on-lookers causes him to lose his nerve and not confess publicly. All of a sudden he notices Sonya following him at a distance and feels renewed conviction and more confident in his confession. When he goes inside the police station he talks with Ilya Petrovich, who mentions Svidrigailov’s suicide, and Raskolnikov is so stunned that he leaves without confessing. When he gets outside, he sees Sonya waiting for him, and he turns back into the police station and offers his confession. The final verdict that the judge rules for Raskolnikov is for ten years in Siberia prison, a bad punishment but not as bad because Raskolnikov offered his confession. In Siberia, Raskolnikov experiences hardship and understands fully the errors of his ways. Sonya, still accompanying and carrying for him, stays with him in the prison and gains the trust of everyone there. At the end of the novel Raskolnikov finally experiences the joys of love and feels the happiness of loving Sonya, who continues to wait for his sentence to be over after ten long years of patience.

Summary Pt. 1

“Crime and Punishment” is a book about the idea of murder and explores the whole concept inside and out. In the beginning, a former student named Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov sets out to visit a pawnbroker in an impoverished section of St. Petersburg in Russia. Alyona Ivanovna, the old pawnbroker, is a stingy, greedy and careless person who regards Raskolnikov lower than a peasant and even gives him less money for what his pawned item is worth. After this encounter with Alyona Raskolnikov starts to develop a macabre idea to kill this worthless “louse” of a woman. He reasons that his crime would benefit the world more than hinder it due to her worthlessness and that the good deeds he could accomplish with her money would offset the crime of killing her in the first place. Pondering whether or not he should commit this crime causes Raskolnikov to explore the very core concepts of ethics and philosophy of murder. As he continues to ponder on this idea, Raskolnikov meets a drunk in a local bar named Marmeladov, who tells him of his tough life and his family, in particular his daughter Sonya, a prostitute, and his wife Katerina Ivanovna who work hard but with little hope in their impoverished lives. Marmeladov, a hopeless drunk who drinks his family’s money, laments himself and the sins that he commits. Raskolnikov walks him home and is struck by the impoverished conditions of the family and leaves money for them before he returns home. This instance is the beginning of the constant poverty seen in the novel that inflicted many in St. Petersburg at the time. The next day, Raskolnikov receives letter from his mother telling him that his sister Dunya is set to marry a middle-aged lawyer named Pyotr Petrovich Luzhin, which Raskolnikov suspects is a sacrifice Dunya is making for him, reminding him of Sonya’s prostitution to help her family. Again, the motif of the poverty that many struggled with at the time appears as one can determine that Dunya is trying to help lessen Raskolnikov’s problems by providing him with money and assistance. Soon after falling asleep that night, Raskolnikov has an ominous and vivid dream of an incident that in which he witnesses peasants beating an emaciated horse to death. This dream is an important factor in the novel because, while striking Raskolnikov with horror and fear for the act he wants to commit, it influences him to believe that it is necessary and for “the greater good”.  Believing this, Raskolnikov then overhears Alyona Ivanovna’s sister, Lizaveta, talking and reveals that she will not be at their apartment that evening, meaning Alyona will be alone. At this point Raskolnikov believes that this is his perfect opportunity to strike and plans on the murder and fully believes in what he is doing. Raskolnikov, leading to this event, has developed a view of himself as a supernatural being and assures himself that he will be as careful as possible and will not get caught. This supernatural being theme that develops in the novel first part of the novel in Raskolnikov’s mind turns out to lead others to suspect him of the crime. The evening of his crime, Raskolnikov has murder on his mind and desires to get rid of his troubles once and for all. Though he has good intentions, Raskolnikov’s plan does not unfold as intended when after he kills Alyona with the butt of his axe he unexpectedly kills Lizaveta, who walks in. Distressed, he only grabs what he can of value and barely escapes the apartment building. The next few days Raskolnikov goes back and forth from delirium and clarity. He starts feelings compelled to confess to the crime to the police but decides not to.  When he is called into the police station Raskolnikov becomes increasingly anxious and nervous which causes the police to be somewhat suspicious of him but don’t come to any accusations. Raskolnikov then receives money from his mother, who is arriving to St. Petersburg in the next couple of days with Dunya to meet Luzhin, in the mail. Raskolnikov at this point has been suffering from his crime and its negative effects through a delirious and confusing sickness for the last week or so. His friend Razumikhin accompanies him to help him through this fever that he is dealing with so to take care of him and to make sure that he doesn’t get into trouble.

            As Raskolnikov lies in his bed and Razumikhin accompanies him in his room, Pytor Petrovich Luzhin opens his door. Immediately Raskolnikov develops a disliking of Luzhin, who shows himself as a pompous and naive person. Eventually the two men get in a fight over whether or not Luzhin is just using Dunya for his own good. Upset at this accusation, Luzhin eventually leaves the apartment saying that he does not want to see Raskolnikov again. After this event, Raskolnikov bumps into the head police inspector, Zamyotov, when he ventures out, even in the frail condition he is in. Raskolnikov brings up almost crazed subjects such as if he was the killer and how he would commit the crime of killing Alyona and Lizaveta, nearly confessing to the murder once again. Zamyotov is troubled and somewhat suspicious of the behavior that Raskolnikov exhibits here and the two part ways. After this discussion Raskolnikov appears to be past the point of reason and contemplates suicide when he stand on a bridge. Suicide seems to be the last point that Raskolnikov can go to that he thinks about a lot in the novel. While it isn’t a major theme, Raskolnikov thinks about it enough to be considered as an influential factor in his decision-making. Disgusted by the thought of suicide he leaves the bridge and goes back to the Ivanovna household in which he killed the two sisters. Acting like a madman he is thrown out and on his way back to his house he discovers Marmeladov’s body lying in the street with a crowd surrounding it. As Raskolnikov discovers, Marmeladov was drunk and run over by a horse carriage in the street. Still alive but barely breathing, Marmeladov is rushed to his impoverished home by Raskolnikov and some help that he gets from witnesses at the tragic event. After Marmeladov passes away after asking but not receiving forgiveness from Katerina Ivanovna in her impoverished home, Raskolnikov takes pity on the impoverished family and leaves them money even in his impoverished state. On returning to his apartment later that day with Razumikhin he comes upon Dunya and his mother, Pulcheria Alexandrovna, who are grief-stricken at Raskolnikov’s condition. After a while Raskolnikov starts to feel better and acts much more normal to his family and friends. The calm mood that Raskolnikov exhibits is ruined by Raskolnikov telling Dunya not to marry Luzhin. The family agrees to meet with Luzhin at night believes that he will be able to tell if Luzhin has good intentions even when Raskolnikov is not in his good favors. Sonya then appears to invite Raskolnikov to Marmeladov’s funeral and the memorial dinner Katerina has planned afterwards. Sonya is astonished by the poverty that Raskolnikov lives in even when he gives money to her family. After Sonya, Pulcheria Alexandrovna and Dunya leave, Raskolnikov and Razumikhin go to Porfiry Petrovich’s, a police inspector, house to get back Raskolnikov’s watch that he pawned to Alyona Ivanovna.