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= Crime_and_Punishment =
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Introduction
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'Crime and Punishment' is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor
Dostoevsky. It was first published in the literary journal 'The
Russian Messenger' in twelve monthly installments during 1866. It was
later published in a single volume. It is the second of Dostoevsky's
full-length novels following his return from ten years of exile in
Siberia. 'Crime and Punishment' is considered the first great novel of
his mature period of writing and is often cited as one of the greatest
works of world literature.
'Crime and Punishment' follows the mental anguish and moral dilemmas
of Rodion Raskolnikov, an impoverished former law student in Saint
Petersburg who plans to kill an unscrupulous pawnbroker, an old woman
who stores money and valuable objects in her flat. He theorises that
with the money he could liberate himself from poverty and go on to
perform great deeds, and seeks to convince himself that certain crimes
are justifiable if they are committed in order to remove obstacles to
the higher goals of "extraordinary" men. Once the deed is done,
however, he finds himself wracked with confusion, paranoia, and
disgust. His theoretical justifications lose all their power as he
struggles with guilt and horror and is confronted with both internal
and external consequences of his deed.
Background
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At the time, Dostoevsky owed large sums of money to creditors and was
trying to help the family of his brother Mikhail, who had died in
early 1864. After appeals elsewhere failed, Dostoevsky turned as a
last resort to the publisher Mikhail Katkov and sought an advance on a
proposed contribution. He offered his story or novella (at the time,
he was not thinking of a novel) for publication in Katkov's monthly
journal 'The Russian Messenger'--a prestigious publication of its
kind, and the outlet for both Ivan Turgenev and Leo Tolstoy.
Dostoevsky, having been engaged in polemical debates with Katkov in
the early 1860s, had never published anything in its pages before. In
a letter to Katkov written in September 1865, Dostoevsky explained to
him that the work was to be about a young man who yields to "certain
strange, 'unfinished' ideas, yet floating in the air". He planned to
explore the moral and psychological dangers of the ideology of
"radicalism", and felt that the project would appeal to the
conservative Katkov. In letters written in November 1865, an important
conceptual change occurred: the "story" had become a "novel". From
then on, 'Crime and Punishment' is referred to as a novel.
In the complete edition of Dostoevsky's writings published in the
Soviet Union, the editors reassembled the writer's notebooks for
'Crime and Punishment' in a sequence roughly corresponding to the
various stages of composition. As a result, there exists a fragmentary
working draft of the novella, as initially conceived, as well as two
other versions of the text. These have been distinguished as the
Wiesbaden edition, the Petersburg edition, and the final plan,
involving the shift from a first-person narrator to Dostoevsky's
innovative use of third-person narrative to achieve first-person
narrative perspectives. Dostoevsky initially considered four
first-person plans: a memoir written by Raskolnikov, his confession
recorded eight days after the murder, his diary begun five days after
the murder, and a mixed form in which the first half was in the form
of a memoir, and the second half in the form of a diary. The Wiesbaden
edition concentrates entirely on the moral and psychological reactions
of the narrator after the murder. It coincides roughly with the story
that Dostoevsky described in his letter to Katkov and, written in the
form of a diary or journal, corresponds to what eventually became part
2 of the finished work.
Why Dostoevsky abandoned his initial version remains a matter of
speculation. According to Joseph Frank, "one possibility is that his
protagonist began to develop beyond the boundaries in which he had
first been conceived". The notebooks indicate that Dostoevsky became
aware of the emergence of new aspects of Raskolnikov's character as
the plot developed, and he structured the novel in conformity with
this "metamorphosis". The final version of 'Crime and Punishment' came
into being only when, in November 1865, Dostoevsky decided to recast
his novel in the third person. This shift was the culmination of a
long struggle, present through all the early stages of composition.
Once having decided, Dostoevsky began to rewrite from scratch and was
able to easily integrate sections of the early manuscript into the
final text. Frank says that he did not, as he told Wrangel, burn
everything he had written earlier.
Dostoevsky was under great pressure to finish 'Crime and Punishment'
on time, as he was simultaneously contracted to finish 'The Gambler'
for the prominent Russian publisher Fyodor Stellovsky, who had imposed
extremely harsh conditions. Anna Snitkina, a stenographer who later
became Dostoevsky's wife, was of great help to him during this
difficult task. The first part of 'Crime and Punishment' appeared in
the January 1866 issue of 'The Russian Messenger', and the last one
was published in December 1866.
Part 1
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Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, a former law student, lives in extreme
poverty in a tiny rented room in Saint Petersburg. Isolated and
antisocial, he has abandoned all attempts to support himself and is
brooding obsessively on a scheme he has devised to murder and rob an
elderly pawnbroker. On the pretext of pawning a watch, he visits her
apartment, but he remains unable to commit himself. Later in a tavern,
he makes the acquaintance of Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov, a drunkard
who recently squandered his family's little wealth. Marmeladov tells
him about his teenage daughter, Sonya, who has become a prostitute in
order to support the family. The next day, Raskolnikov receives a
letter from his mother in which she describes the problems of his
sister Dunya, who has been working as a governess, with her
ill-intentioned employer, Svidrigailov. To escape her vulnerable
position, and with hopes of helping her brother, Dunya has chosen to
marry a wealthy suitor, Luzhin, whom they are coming to meet in
Petersburg. Details in the letter suggest that Luzhin is a conceited
opportunist who is seeking to take advantage of Dunya's situation.
Raskolnikov is enraged at his sister's sacrifice, feeling it is the
same as what Sonya felt compelled to do. Painfully aware of his own
poverty and impotence, his thoughts return to his idea. A further
series of internal and external events seem to conspire to compel him
toward the resolution to enact it.
In a state of extreme nervous tension, Raskolnikov steals an axe and
makes his way once more to the old woman's apartment. He gains access
by pretending he has something to pawn, and then attacks her with the
axe, killing her. He also kills her half-sister, Lizaveta, who happens
to stumble upon the scene of the crime. Shaken by his actions, he
steals only a handful of items and a small purse, leaving much of the
pawnbroker's wealth untouched. Due to sheer good fortune, he manages
to escape the building and return to his room undetected.
Part 2
========
In a feverish and semi-delirious state Raskolnikov conceals the stolen
items and falls asleep exhausted. He is greatly alarmed the next
morning when he gets summoned to the police station, but it turns out
to be in relation to a debt notice from his landlady. When the
officers at the bureau begin talking about the murder, Raskolnikov
faints. He quickly recovers, but he can see from their faces that he
has aroused suspicion. Fearing a search, he hides the stolen items
under a large rock in an empty yard, noticing in humiliation that he
has not even checked how much money is in the purse. Without knowing
why, he visits his old university friend Razumikhin, who observes that
Raskolnikov seems to be seriously ill. Finally he returns to his room
where he succumbs to his illness and falls into a prolonged delirium.
When he emerges several days later he finds that Razumikhin has
tracked him down and has been nursing him. Still feverish, Raskolnikov
listens nervously to a conversation between Razumikhin and the doctor
about the status of the police investigation into the murders: a
'muzhik' called Mikolka, who was working in a neighbouring flat at the
time, has been detained, and the old woman's clients are being
interviewed. They are interrupted by the arrival of Luzhin, Dunya's
fiancé, who wishes to introduce himself, but Raskolnikov deliberately
insults him and kicks him out. He angrily tells the others to leave as
well, and then sneaks out himself. He looks for news about the murder,
and seems almost to want to draw attention to his own part in it. He
encounters the police official Zamyotov, who was present when he
fainted in the bureau, and openly mocks the young man's unspoken
suspicions. He returns to the scene of the crime and re-lives the
sensations he experienced at the time. He angers the workmen and
caretakers by asking casual questions about the murder, even
suggesting that they accompany him to the police station to discuss
it. As he contemplates whether or not to confess, he sees Marmeladov,
who has been struck mortally by a carriage. He rushes to help and
succeeds in conveying the stricken man back to his family's apartment.
Calling out for Sonya to forgive him, Marmeladov dies in his
daughter's arms. Raskolnikov gives his last twenty five roubles (from
money sent to him by his mother) to Marmeladov's consumptive widow,
Katerina Ivanovna, saying it is the repayment of a debt to his friend.
Feeling renewed, Raskolnikov calls on Razumikhin, and they go back
together to Raskolnikov's building. Upon entering his room Raskolnikov
is deeply shocked to see his mother and sister sitting on the sofa.
They have just arrived in Petersburg and are ecstatic to see him, but
Raskolnikov is unable to speak, and collapses in a faint.
Part 3
========
Razumikhin tends to Raskolnikov, and manages to convince the
distressed mother and sister to return to their apartment. He goes
with them, despite being drunk and rather overwhelmed by Dunya's
beauty. When they return the next morning Raskolnikov has improved
physically, but it becomes apparent that he is still mentally
distracted and merely forcing himself to endure the meeting. He
demands that Dunya break with Luzhin, but Dunya fiercely defends her
motives for the marriage. Mrs Raskolnikova has received a note from
Luzhin demanding that her son not be present at any future meetings
between them. He also informs her that he witnessed her son give the
25 rubles to "an unmarried woman of immoral behavior" (Sonya). Dunya
has decided that a meeting, at which both Luzhin and her brother are
present, must take place, and Raskolnikov agrees to attend that
evening along with Razumikhin. To Raskolnikov's surprise, Sonya
suddenly appears at his door. Timidly, she explains that he left his
address with them last night, and that she has come to invite him to
attend her father's funeral. As she leaves, Raskolnikov asks for her
address and tells her that he will visit her soon.
At Raskolnikov's behest, Razumikhin takes him to see the detective
Porfiry Petrovich, who is investigating the murders. Raskolnikov
immediately senses that Porfiry knows that he is the murderer.
Porfiry, who has just been discussing the case with Zamyotov, adopts
an ironic tone during the conversation. He expresses extreme curiosity
about an article that Raskolnikov wrote some months ago called 'On
Crime', in which he suggests that certain rare individuals--the
benefactors and geniuses of mankind--have a right to 'step across'
legal or moral boundaries if those boundaries are an obstruction to
the success of their idea. Raskolnikov defends himself skillfully, but
he is alarmed and angered by Porfiry's insinuating tone. An
appointment is made for an interview the following morning at the
police bureau.
Leaving Razumikhin with his mother and sister, Raskolnikov returns to
his own building. He is surprised to find an old artisan, whom he does
not know, making inquiries about him. Raskolnikov tries to find out
what he wants, but the artisan says only one word - "murderer", and
walks off. Petrified, Raskolnikov returns to his room and falls into
thought and then sleeps. He wakens from an eerie nightmare about the
murder of the old woman to find another complete stranger present,
this time a man of aristocratic appearance. The man politely
introduces himself as Arkady Ivanovich Svidrigailov.
Part 4
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Svidrigailov indulges in an amiable but disjointed monologue,
punctuated by Raskolnikov's terse interjections. He claims to no
longer have any romantic interest in Dunya, but wants to stop her from
marrying Luzhin, and offers her ten thousand roubles. Raskolnikov
refuses the money on her behalf and refuses to facilitate a meeting.
Svidrigailov also mentions that his wife, who defended Dunya at the
time of the unpleasantness but died shortly afterwards, has left her
3000 rubles in her will.
The meeting with Luzhin that evening begins with talk of
Svidrigailov--his depraved character, his presence in Petersburg, the
unexpected death of his wife and the 3000 rubles left to Dunya. Luzhin
takes offence when Dunya insists on resolving the issue with her
brother, and when Raskolnikov draws attention to the slander in his
letter, Luzhin becomes reckless, exposing his true character. Dunya
tells him to leave and never come back. Now free and with significant
capital, they excitedly begin to discuss plans for the future, but
Raskolnikov suddenly gets up and leaves, telling them, to their great
consternation, that it might be the last time he sees them. He
instructs the baffled Razumikhin to remain and always care for them.
Raskolnikov proceeds to Sonya's place. She is gratified that he is
visiting her, but also frightened of his strange manner. He asks a
series of merciless questions about her terrible situation and that of
Katerina Ivanovna and the children. Raskolnikov begins to realize that
Sonya is sustained only by her faith in God. She reveals that she was
a friend of the murdered Lizaveta. In fact, Lizaveta gave her a cross
and a copy of the Gospels. She passionately reads to him the story of
the raising of Lazarus from the Gospel of John. His fascination with
her, which had begun at the time when her father spoke of her,
increases and he decides that they must face the future together. As
he leaves he tells her that he will come back tomorrow and tell her
who killed her friend Lizaveta.
When Raskolnikov presents himself for his interview, Porfiry resumes
and intensifies his insinuating, provocative, ironic chatter, without
ever making a direct accusation. With Raskolnikov's anger reaching
fever pitch, Porfiry hints that he has a "little surprise" for him
behind the partition in his office, but at that moment there is a
commotion outside the door and a young man (Mikolka the painter)
bursts in, followed by some policemen. To both Porfiry and
Raskolnikov's astonishment, Mikolka proceeds to loudly confess to the
murders. Porfiry does not believe the confession, but he is forced to
let Raskolnikov go. Back at his room Raskolnikov is horrified when the
old artisan suddenly appears at his door. But the man bows and asks
for forgiveness: he had been Porfiry's "little surprise", and had
heard Mikolka confess. He had been one of those present when
Raskolnikov returned to the scene of the murders, and had reported his
behavior to Porfiry.
Part 5
========
Raskolnikov attends the Marmeladovs' post-funeral banquet at Katerina
Ivanovna's apartment. The atmosphere deteriorates as guests become
drunk and the half-mad Katerina Ivanovna engages in a verbal attack on
her German landlady. With chaos descending, everyone is surprised by
the sudden and portentous appearance of Luzhin. He sternly announces
that a 100-ruble banknote disappeared from his apartment at the
precise time that he was being visited by Sonya, whom he had invited
in order to make a small donation. Sonya fearfully denies stealing the
money, but Luzhin persists in his accusation and demands that someone
search her. Outraged, Katerina Ivanovna abuses Luzhin and sets about
emptying Sonya's pockets to prove her innocence, but a folded
100-ruble note does indeed fly out of one of the pockets. The mood in
the room turns against Sonya, Luzhin chastises her, and the landlady
orders the family out. But Luzhin's roommate Lebezyatnikov arrives,
and angrily asserts that he saw Luzhin surreptitiously slip the money
into Sonya's pocket as she left, although he had thought at the time
that it was a noble act of anonymous charity. Raskolnikov backs
Lebezyatnikov up by confidently identifying Luzhin's motive: a desire
to avenge himself on Raskolnikov by defaming Sonya, in hopes of
causing a rift with his family. Luzhin is discredited, but Sonya is
traumatized, and she runs out of the apartment. Raskolnikov follows
her.
Back at her room, Raskolnikov draws Sonya's attention to the ease with
which Luzhin could have ruined her, and consequently the children as
well. But it is only a prelude to his confession that he is the
murderer of the old woman and Lizaveta. Painfully, he tries to explain
his abstract motives for the crime to uncomprehending Sonya. She is
horrified, not just at the crime, but at his own self-torture, and
tells him that he must hand himself in to the police. Lebezyatnikov
appears and tells them that the landlady has kicked Katerina Ivanovna
out of the apartment and that she has gone mad. They find Katerina
Ivanovna surrounded by people in the street, completely insane, trying
to force the terrified children to perform for money, and near death
from her illness. They manage to get her back to Sonya's room, where,
distraught and raving, she dies. To Raskolnikov's surprise,
Svidrigailov suddenly appears and informs him that he will be using
the ten thousand rubles intended for Dunya to make the funeral
arrangements and to place the children in good orphanages. When
Raskolnikov asks him what his motives are, he laughingly replies with
direct quotations of Raskolnikov's own words, spoken when he was
trying to explain his justifications for the murder to Sonya.
Svidrigailov has been residing next door to Sonya, and overheard every
word of the murder confession.
Part 6
========
Razumikhin tells Raskolnikov that Dunya has become troubled and
distant after receiving a letter from someone. He also mentions, to
Raskolnikov's astonishment, that Porfiry no longer suspects him of the
murders. As Raskolnikov is about to set off in search of Svidrigailov,
Porfiry himself appears and politely requests a brief chat. He
sincerely apologises for his previous behavior and seeks to explain
the reasons behind it. Strangely, Raskolnikov begins to feel alarmed
at the thought that Porfiry might think he is innocent. But Porfiry's
changed attitude is motivated by genuine respect for Raskolnikov, not
by any thought of his innocence, and he concludes by expressing his
absolute certainty that Raskolnikov is indeed the murderer. He claims
that he will be arresting him soon, but urges him to confess to make
it easier on himself. Raskolnikov chooses to continue the struggle.
Raskolnikov finds Svidrigailov at an inn and warns him against
approaching Dunya. Svidrigailov, who has in fact arranged to meet
Dunya, threatens to go to the police, but Raskolnikov is unconcerned
and follows when he leaves. When Raskolnikov finally turns home,
Dunya, who has been watching them, approaches Svidrigailov and demands
to know what he meant in his letter about her brother's "secret". She
reluctantly accompanies him to his rooms, where he reveals what he
overheard and attempts to use it to make her yield to his desire.
Dunya, however, has a gun and she fires at him, narrowly missing:
Svidrigailov gently encourages her to reload and try again. Eventually
she throws the gun aside, but Svidrigailov, crushed by her hatred for
him, tells her to leave. Later that evening he goes to Sonya to
discuss the arrangements for Katerina Ivanovna's children. He gives
her 3000 rubles, telling her she will need it if she wishes to follow
Raskolnikov to Siberia. He spends the night in a miserable hotel and
the following morning commits suicide in a public place.
Raskolnikov says a painful goodbye to his mother, without telling her
the truth. Dunya is waiting for him at his room, and he tells her that
he will be going to the police to confess to the murders. He stops at
Sonya's place on the way and she gives him a crucifix. At the bureau,
he learns of Svidrigailov's suicide, and almost changes his mind, even
leaving the building. However, he sees Sonya (who has followed him)
looking at him in despair, and he returns to make a full and frank
confession to the murders.
Epilogue
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Due to the fullness of his confession at a time when another man had
already confessed, and his state of mind at the time of the murders,
Raskolnikov is sentenced to only eight years of penal servitude. Dunya
and Razumikhin marry and plan to move to Siberia, but Raskolnikov's
mother falls ill and dies. Sonya follows Raskolnikov to Siberia, but
he is initially hostile towards her as he is still struggling to
acknowledge moral culpability for his crime, feeling himself to be
guilty only of weakness. It is only after some time in prison that his
redemption and moral regeneration begin under Sonya's loving
influence.
Characters
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Character names
colspan="4" | Russian and romanization
First name, nickname !! Patronymic !! Family name
Родиóн Rodión Ромáнович Románovich Раскóльников Raskól'nikov
Авдо́тья, Ду́ня Avdótya, Dounia Рома́новна Románovna rowspan="2"
| Раско́льникова Raskól'nikova
Пульхери́я Pulkhería Алексáндровна Aleksándrovna
Семён Semyón Заха́рович Zakhárovich Мармела́дов Marmeládov
Со́фья, Со́ня, Со́нечка Sófya, Sónya, Sónechka Семёновна Semyónovna
rowspan="2" | Мармела́дова Marmeládova
Катери́на Katerína Ива́новна Ivánovna
Дми́трий Dmítriy Проко́фьич Prokófyich Вразуми́хин, Разуми́хин
Vrazumíkhin, Razumíkhin
Праско́вья Praskóv'ya Па́вловна Pávlovna Зарницына Zarnitsyna
Арка́дий Arkádiy Ива́нович Ivánovich Свидрига́йлов Svidrigáilov
Ма́рфа Márfa Петро́вна Petróvna Свидрига́йлова Svidrigáilova
Пётр Pyótr Петро́вич Petróvich Лужин Lúzhyn
Андре́й Andréy Семёнович Semyónovich Лебезя́тников Lebezyátnikov
Порфи́рий Porfíry Петро́вич Petróvich
Лизаве́та Lizavéta rowspan="2" | Ива́новна Ivánovna
Алёна Alyóna
An acute accent marks the stressed syllable.
In 'Crime and Punishment', Dostoevsky fuses the personality of his
main character, Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, with his new
anti-radical ideological themes. The main plot involves a murder as
the result of "ideological intoxication," and depicts all the
disastrous moral and psychological consequences that result from the
murder. Raskolnikov's psychology is placed at the center, and
carefully interwoven with the ideas behind his transgression; every
other feature of the novel illuminates the agonizing dilemma in which
Raskolnikov is caught. From another point of view, the novel's plot is
another variation of a conventional nineteenth-century theme: an
innocent young provincial comes to seek his fortune in the capital,
where he succumbs to corruption, and loses all traces of his former
freshness and purity. However, as Gary Rosenshield points out,
"Raskolnikov succumbs not to the temptations of high society as Honoré
de Balzac's Rastignac or Stendhal's Julien Sorel, but to those of
rationalistic Petersburg".
Major characters
==================
Raskolnikov (Rodion Romanovitch) is the protagonist, and the novel
focuses primarily on his perspective. A 23-year-old former student,
now destitute, Raskolnikov is described in the novel as "exceptionally
handsome, taller than average in height, slim, well built, with
beautiful dark eyes and dark brown hair." On the one hand, he is cold,
apathetic, and antisocial; on the other, he can be surprisingly warm
and compassionate. He commits murder as well as acts of impulsive
charity. His chaotic interaction with the external world and his
nihilistic worldview might be seen as causes of his social alienation
or consequences of it.
Despite its title, the novel does not so much deal with the crime and
its formal punishment as with Raskolnikov's internal struggle - the
torments of his own conscience, rather than the legal consequences of
committing the crime. Believing society would be better for it,
Raskolnikov commits murder with the idea that he possesses enough
intellectual and emotional fortitude to deal with the ramifications,
but his sense of guilt soon overwhelms him to the point of
psychological and somatic illness. It is only in the epilogue that he
realizes his formal punishment, having decided to confess and end his
alienation from society.
Sonya (Sofya Semyonovna Marmeladova) is the daughter of a drunkard
named Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov, whom Raskolnikov meets in a
tavern at the beginning of the novel. She is often characterized as
self-sacrificial, shy, and innocent, despite being forced into
prostitution to help her family. Raskolnikov discerns in her the same
feelings of shame and alienation that he experiences, and she becomes
the first person to whom he confesses his crime. Sensing his deep
unhappiness, she supports him, even though she was friends with one of
the victims (Lizaveta). Throughout the novel, Sonya is an important
source of moral strength and rehabilitation for Raskolnikov.
Razumíkhin (Dmitry Prokofyich) is Raskolnikov's loyal friend and also
a former law student. The character is intended to represent something
of a reconciliation between faith and reason ('razum', "sense",
"intelligence"). He jokes that his name is actually Vrazumíkhin - a
name suggesting "to bring someone to their senses". He is upright,
strong, resourceful and intelligent, but also somewhat naïve -
qualities that are of great importance to Raskolnikov in his desperate
situation. He admires Raskolnikov's intelligence and character,
refuses to give any credence to others' suspicions, and supports him
at all times. He looks after Raskolnikov's family when they come to
Petersburg, falling in love with and later marrying Dunya.
Dunya (Avdotya Romanovna Raskolnikova) - Raskolnikov's beautiful and
strong-willed sister who works as a governess. She initially plans to
marry the wealthy but unsavory lawyer Luzhin, thinking it will enable
her to ease her family's desperate financial situation and escape her
former employer Svidrigailov. Her situation is a factor in
Raskolnikov's decision to commit the murder. In St. Petersburg, she is
eventually able to escape the clutches of both Luzhin and
Svidrigailov, and later marries Razumikhin.
Luzhin (Pyotr Petrovich) - A well-off lawyer who is engaged to Dunya
in the beginning of the novel. His motives for the marriage are
dubious, as he more or less states that he has sought a woman who will
be completely beholden to him. He slanders and falsely accuses Sonya
of theft in an attempt to harm Raskolnikov's relations with his
family. Luzhin represents immorality, in contrast to Svidrigaïlov's
amorality, and Raskolnikov's misguided morality.
Svidrigaïlov (Arkady Ivanovich) - Sensual, depraved, and wealthy
former employer and former pursuer of Dunya. He overhears
Raskolnikov's confessions to Sonya and uses this knowledge to torment
both Dunya and Raskolnikov, but does not inform the police. Despite
his apparent malevolence, Svidrigaïlov seems to be capable of
generosity and compassion. When Dunya tells him she could never love
him (after attempting to shoot him) he lets her go. He tells Sonya
that he has made financial arrangements for the Marmeladov children to
enter an orphanage, and gives her three thousand rubles, enabling her
to follow Raskolnikov to Siberia. Having left the rest of his money to
his juvenile fiancée, he commits suicide.
Porfiry Petrovich - The head of the Investigation Department in charge
of solving the murders of Lizaveta and Alyona Ivanovna, who, along
with Sonya, moves Raskolnikov towards confession. Unlike Sonya,
however, Porfiry does this through psychological means, seeking to
confuse and provoke the volatile Raskolnikov into a voluntary or
involuntary confession. He later drops these methods and sincerely
urges Raskolnikov to confess for his own good.
Other characters
==================
* 'Pulkheria Alexandrovna Raskolnikova' - Raskolnikov's naïve, hopeful
and loving mother. Following Raskolnikov's sentence, she falls ill
(mentally and physically) and eventually dies. She hints in her dying
stages that she is slightly more aware of her son's fate, which was
hidden from her by Dunya and Razumikhin.
* 'Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov' - Hopeless drunk who Raskolnikov
meets while still considering the murder scheme. Raskolnikov is deeply
moved by his passionate, almost ecstatic confession of how his abject
alcoholism led to the devastation of his life, the destitution of his
wife and children, and ultimately to his daughter Sonya being forced
into prostitution.
* 'Katerina Ivanovna Marmeladova' - Semyon Marmeladov's consumptive
and ill-tempered second wife, stepmother to Sonya. She drives Sonya
into prostitution in a fit of rage, but later regrets it. She beats
her children, but works ferociously to improve their standard of
living. She is obsessed with demonstrating that slum life is far below
her station. Following Marmeladov's death, she uses the money
Raskolnikov gives her to hold a funeral. She eventually succumbs to
her illness.
* 'Andrey Semyonovich Lebezyatnikov' - Luzhin's utopian socialist
roommate who witnesses his attempt to frame Sonya and subsequently
exposes him. He is proven right by Raskolnikov, the only one knowing
of Luzhin's motives.
* 'Alyona Ivanovna' - Suspicious old pawnbroker who hoards money and
is merciless to her patrons. She is Raskolnikov's intended target, and
he kills her in the beginning of the book.
* 'Lizaveta Ivanovna' - Alyona's handicapped, innocent and submissive
sister. Raskolnikov murders her when she walks in immediately after
Raskolnikov had killed Alyona. Lizaveta was a friend of Sonya.
* 'Zosimov (Зосимов)' - A friend of Razumikhin and a doctor with a
particular interest in 'psychological' illnesses. He ministers to
Raskolnikov during his delirium and its aftermath.
* 'Nastasya Petrovna (Настасья Петровна)' - Raskolnikov's landlady's
cheerful and talkative servant who is very caring towards Raskolnikov
and often brings him food and drink.
* 'Nikodim Fomich (Никодим Фомич)' - The amiable chief of police.
* 'Ilya Petrovich (Илья Петрович)' - A police official and Nikodim
Fomich's assistant, nicknamed "Gunpowder" for his very bad temper. He
is the first to have suspicions about Raskolnikov in relation to the
murder, and Raskolnikov ultimately makes his official confession to
Gunpowder.
* 'Alexander Grigorievich Zamyotov (Александр Григорьевич Заметов)' -
Head clerk at the police station and friend to Razumikhin.
* 'Praskovya Pavlovna Zarnitsyna' - Raskolnikov's landlady (called
Pashenka). Shy and retiring, Praskovya Pavlovna does not figure
prominently in the course of events. Raskolnikov had been engaged to
her daughter, a sickly girl who had died, and Praskovya Pavlovna had
granted him extensive credit on the basis of this engagement and a
promissory note for 115 roubles. She had then handed this note to a
court councillor named Chebarov, who had claimed the note, causing
Raskolnikov to be summoned to the police station the day after his
crime.
* 'Marfa Petrovna Svidrigaïlova' - Svidrigaïlov's deceased wife, whom
he is suspected of having murdered, and who he claims has visited him
as a ghost. In Pulkheria Alexandrovna's letter to her son, Marfa
Petrovna is said to have vigorously defended Dunya against
Svidrigailov, and introduced her to Luzhin. She leaves Dunya 3000
rubles in her will.
* 'Nikolai Dementiev (Николай Дементьев)', also known as 'Mikolka' - A
house painter who happens to be nearby at the time of the murder and
is initially suspected of the crime. Driven by memories of the
teachings of his Old Believer sect, which holds it to be supremely
virtuous to suffer for another person's crime, he falsely confesses to
the murders.
* 'Polina Mikhailovna Marmeladova (Полина Михайловна Мармеладова)' -
Ten-year-old adopted daughter of Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov and
younger stepsister to Sonya, sometimes known as Polechka and Polya.
Name Word Meaning in Russian
Raskolnikov 'raskol' a schism, or split; "'raskolnik'" is "one
who splits" or "dissenter"; the verb raskalyvat' means "to cleave",
"to chop","to crack","to split" or "to break". The former translations
clarify the literal meaning of the word. The figurative meaning of the
word is "to bring to light", "to make to confess or acknowledge the
truth", etc. The word Raskol is meant to evoke the ideas of the
splitting of the Russian Orthodox Church under Patriarch Nikon.
Luzhin 'luzha' a puddle
Razumikhin 'razum' rationality, mind, intelligence
Zamyotov 'zametit' to notice, to realize
Lebezyatnikov 'lebezit' to fawn on somebody, to cringe
Marmeladov 'marmelad' marmalade/jam
Svidrigaïlov 'Svidrigailo' a Lithuanian duke of the fifteenth
century (the name given to a character rather by sound, than by
meaning)
Porfiry 'Porphyry' (perhaps) named after the Neoplatonic
philosopher or after the Russian "порфира" ("porphyra") meaning
"purple, purple mantle"
Sonya 'Sofya' from the Greek meaning "wisdom"
Nihilism, rationalism and utilitarianism
==========================================
Dostoevsky's letter to Katkov reveals his immediate inspiration, to
which he remained faithful even after his original plan evolved into a
much more ambitious creation: a desire to counteract what he regarded
as nefarious consequences arising from the doctrines of Russian
nihilism. In the novel, Dostoevsky pinpointed the dangers of both
utilitarianism and rationalism, the main ideas of which inspired the
radicals, continuing a fierce criticism he had already started with
his 'Notes from Underground'. Dostoevsky utilized the characters,
dialogue and narrative in 'Crime and Punishment' to articulate an
argument against Westernizing ideas. He thus attacked a peculiar
Russian blend of French utopian socialism and Benthamite
utilitarianism, which had developed under revolutionary thinkers such
as Nikolai Chernyshevsky and became known as rational egoism.
The radicals refused to recognize themselves in the novel's pages,
since Dostoevsky pursued nihilistic ideas to their most extreme
consequences. Dimitri Pisarev ridiculed the notion that Raskolnikov's
ideas could be identified with those of the radicals of the time. The
radicals' aims were altruistic and humanitarian, but they were to be
achieved by relying on reason and suppressing the spontaneous outflow
of Christian compassion. Chernyshevsky's utilitarian ethic proposed
that thought and will in Man were subject to the laws of physical
science. Dostoevsky believed that such ideas limited man to a product
of physics, chemistry and biology, negating spontaneous emotional
responses. In its latest variety, Russian nihilism encouraged the
creation of an élite of superior individuals to whom the hopes of the
future were to be entrusted.
Raskolnikov exemplifies the potentially disastrous hazards contained
in such an ideal. Contemporary scholar Joseph Frank writes that "the
moral-psychological traits of his character incorporate this antinomy
between instinctive kindness, sympathy, and pity on the one hand and,
on the other, a proud and idealistic egoism that has become perverted
into a contemptuous disdain for the submissive herd". Raskolnikov's
inner conflict in the opening section of the novel results in a
utilitarian-altruistic justification for the proposed crime: why not
kill a wretched and "useless" old moneylender to alleviate the human
misery? Dostoevsky wants to show that this utilitarian style of
reasoning had become widespread and commonplace; it was by no means
the solitary invention of Raskolnikov's tormented and disordered mind.
Such radical and utilitarian ideas act to reinforce the innate egoism
of Raskolnikov's character, and help justify his contempt for
humanity's lower qualities and ideals. He even becomes fascinated with
the majestic image of a Napoleonic personality who, in the interests
of a higher social good, believes that he possesses a moral right to
kill. Indeed, his "Napoleon-like" plan impels him toward a
well-calculated murder, the ultimate conclusion of his self-deception
with utilitarianism.
The environment of Saint Petersburg
=====================================
Dostoevsky was among the first to recognize the symbolic possibilities
of city life and imagery drawn from the city. I. F. I. Evnin regards
'Crime and Punishment' as the first great Russian novel "in which the
climactic moments of the action are played out in dirty taverns, on
the street, in the sordid back rooms of the poor".
Dostoevsky's Petersburg is the city of unrelieved poverty;
"magnificence has no place in it, because magnificence is external,
formal abstract, cold". Dostoevsky connects the city's problems to
Raskolnikov's thoughts and subsequent actions. The crowded streets and
squares, the shabby houses and taverns, the noise and stench, all are
transformed by Dostoevsky into a rich store of metaphors for states of
mind. Donald Fanger asserts that "the real city ... rendered with a
striking concreteness, is also a city of the mind in the way that its
atmosphere answers Raskolnikov's state and almost symbolizes it. It is
crowded, stifling, and parched."
In his depiction of Petersburg, Dostoevsky accentuates the squalor and
human wretchedness that pass before Raskolnikov's eyes. He uses
Raskolnikov's encounter with Marmeladov to contrast the heartlessness
of Raskolnikov's convictions with a Christian approach to poverty and
wretchedness. Dostoevsky believes that the moral "freedom" propounded
by Raskolnikov is a dreadful freedom "that is contained by no values,
because it is before values". In seeking to affirm this "freedom" in
himself, Raskolnikov is in perpetual revolt against society, himself,
and God. He thinks that he is self-sufficient and self-contained, but
at the end "his boundless self-confidence must disappear in the face
of what is greater than himself, and his self-fabricated justification
must humble itself before the higher justice of God". Dostoevsky calls
for the regeneration and renewal of "sick" Russian society through the
re-discovery of its national identity, its religion, and its roots.
Structure
======================================================================
The novel is divided into six parts, with an epilogue. The notion of
"intrinsic duality" in 'Crime and Punishment' has been commented upon,
with the suggestion that there is a degree of symmetry to the book.
Edward Wasiolek, who has argued that Dostoevsky was a skilled
craftsman, highly conscious of the formal pattern in his art, has
likened the structure of 'Crime and Punishment' to a "flattened X",
saying:
This compositional balance is achieved by means of the symmetrical
distribution of certain key episodes throughout the novel's six parts.
The recurrence of these episodes in the two halves of the novel, as
David Bethea has argued, is organized according to a mirror-like
principle, whereby the "left" half of the novel reflects the "right"
half.
The seventh part of the novel, the Epilogue, has attracted much
attention and controversy. Some of Dostoevsky's critics have
criticized the novel's final pages as superfluous, anticlimactic,
unworthy of the rest of the work, while others have defended it,
offering various schemes that they claim prove its inevitability and
necessity. Steven Cassedy argues that 'Crime and Punishment' "is
formally two distinct but closely related, things, namely a particular
type of tragedy in the classical Greek mold and a Christian
resurrection tale". Cassedy concludes that "the logical demands of the
tragic model as such are satisfied without the Epilogue in 'Crime and
Punishment' ... At the same time, this tragedy contains a Christian
component, and the logical demands of this element are met only by the
resurrection promised in the Epilogue".
Style
======================================================================
'Crime and Punishment' is written from a third-person omniscient
perspective. It is told primarily from the point of view of
Raskolnikov, but does at times switch to the perspective of other
characters such as Svidrigaïlov, Razumikhin, Luzhin, Sonya or Dunya.
This narrative technique, which fuses the narrator very closely with
the consciousness and point of view of the central characters, was
original for its period. Frank notes that Dostoevsky's use of time
shifts of memory and manipulation of temporal sequence begins to
approach the later experiments of Henry James, Joseph Conrad, Virginia
Woolf, and James Joyce. A late nineteenth-century reader was, however,
accustomed to more orderly and linear types of expository narration.
This led to the persistence of the legend that Dostoevsky was an
untidy and negligent craftsman, and to observations like the following
by Melchior de Vogüé: "A word ... one does not even notice, a small
fact that takes up only a line, have their reverberations fifty pages
later ... [so that] the continuity becomes unintelligible if one skips
a couple of pages".
Dostoevsky uses different speech mannerisms and sentences of different
length for different characters. Those who use artificial
language--Luzhin, for example--are identified as unattractive people.
Mrs. Marmeladov's disintegrating mind is reflected in her language. In
the original Russian text, the names of the major characters have
something of a double meaning, but in translation the subtlety of the
Russian language is predominantly lost due to differences in language
structure and culture. For example, the original Russian title
("Преступление и наказание") is not the direct equivalent to the
English "Crime and Punishment". "Преступление" ('Prestupléniye') is
literally translated as 'a stepping across'. The physical image of
crime as crossing over a barrier or a boundary is lost in translation,
as is the religious implication of transgression.
Reception
======================================================================
The first part of 'Crime and Punishment' published in the January and
February issues of 'The Russian Messenger' met with public success. In
his memoirs, the conservative belletrist Nikolay Strakhov recalled
that 'Crime and Punishment' was the literary sensation of 1866 in
Russia. Tolstoy's novel 'War and Peace' was being serialized in 'The
Russian Messenger' at the same time as 'Crime and Punishment'.
The novel soon attracted the criticism of the liberal and radical
critics. G.Z. Yeliseyev sprang to the defense of the Russian student
corporations, and wondered, "Has there ever been a case of a student
committing murder for the sake of robbery?" Pisarev, aware of the
novel's artistic value, described Raskolnikov as a product of his
environment, and argued that the main theme of the work was poverty
and its results. He measured the novel's excellence by the accuracy
with which Dostoevsky portrayed the contemporary social reality, and
focused on what he regarded as inconsistencies in the novel's plot.
Strakhov rejected Pisarev's contention that the theme of environmental
determinism was essential to the novel, and pointed out that
Dostoevsky's attitude towards his hero was sympathetic: "This is not
mockery of the younger generation, neither a reproach nor an
accusation--it is a lament over it." Solovyov felt that the meaning of
the novel, despite the common failure to understand it, is clear and
simple: a man who considers himself entitled to 'step across'
discovers that what he thought was an intellectually and even morally
justifiable transgression of an arbitrary law turns out to be, for his
conscience, "a sin, a violation of inner moral justice... that inward
sin of self-idolatry can only be redeemed by an inner act of
self-renunciation."
The early Symbolist movement that dominated Russian letters in the
1880s was concerned more with aesthetics than the visceral realism and
intellectuality of 'Crime and Punishment', but a tendency toward
mysticism among the new generation of symbolists in the 1900s led to a
reevaluation of the novel as an address to the dialectic of spirit and
matter. In the character of Sonya (Sofya Semyonovna) they saw an
embodiment of both the Orthodox feminine principle of 'hagia sophia'
(holy wisdom) - "at once sexual and innocent, redemptive both in her
suffering and her veneration of suffering", and the most important
feminine deity of Russian folklore 'mat syra zemlya' (moist mother
earth). Raskolnikov is a "son of Earth" whose egoistic aspirations
lead him to ideas and actions that alienate him from the very source
of his strength, and he must bow down to her before she can relieve
him of the terrible burden of his guilt. Philosopher and Orthodox
theologian Nikolay Berdyaev shared Solovyov and the symbolists' sense
of the novel's spiritual significance, seeing it as an illustration of
the modern age's hubristic self-deification, or what he calls "the
suicide of man by self-affirmation". Raskolnikov answers his question
of whether he has the right to kill solely by reference to his own
arbitrary will, but, according to Berdyaev, these are questions that
can only be answered by God, and "he who does not bow before that
higher will destroys his neighbor and destroys himself: that is the
meaning of 'Crime and Punishment'".
'Crime and Punishment' was regarded as an important work in a number
of 20th-century European cultural movements, notably the Bloomsbury
Group, psychoanalysis, and existentialism. Of the writers associated
with Bloomsbury, Virginia Woolf, John Middleton Murry and D. H.
Lawrence are some of those who have discussed the work. Freud held
Dostoevsky's work in high esteem, and many of his followers have
attempted psychoanalytical interpretations of Raskolnikov. Among the
existentialists, Sartre and Camus in particular have acknowledged
Dostoevsky's influence.
The affinity of 'Crime and Punishment' with both religious mysticism
and psychoanalysis led to suppression of discussion in Soviet Russia:
interpretations of Raskolnikov tended to align with Pisarev's idea of
reaction to unjust socio-economic conditions. An exception was the
work of Mikhail Bakhtin, considered by many commentators to be the
most original and insightful analyst of Dostoevsky's work. In
'Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics', Bakhtin argues that attempts to
understand Dostoevsky's characters from the vantage point of a
pre-existing philosophy, or as individualized "objects" to be
psychologically analysed, will always fail to penetrate the unique
"artistic architechtonics" of his works. In such cases, both the
critical approach and the assumed object of investigation are
monological: everything is perceived as occurring within the framework
of a single overarching perspective, whether that of the critic or
that of the author. Dostoevsky's art, Bakhtin argues, is inherently
dialogical: events proceed on the basis of interaction between
self-validating subjective voices, often within the consciousness of
an individual character, as is the case with Raskolnikov.
Raskolnikov's consciousness is depicted as a battleground for all the
conflicting ideas that find expression in the novel: everyone and
everything he encounters becomes reflected and refracted in a
"dialogized" interior monologue. He has rejected external
relationships and chosen his tormenting internal dialogue; only Sonya
is capable of continuing to engage with him despite his cruelty. His
openness to dialogue with Sonya is what enables him to cross back over
the "threshold into real-life communication (confession and public
trial)--not out of guilt, for he avoids acknowledging his guilt, but
out of weariness and loneliness, for that reconciling step is the only
relief possible from the cacophony of unfinalized inner dialogue."
English translations
======================================================================
# Frederick Whishaw (1885)
# Constance Garnett (1914)
# David Magarshack (1951)
# Princess Alexandra Kropotkin (1953)
# Jessie Coulson (1953)
##Revised by George Gibian (Norton Critical Edition, 3 editions -
1964, 1975, and 1989)
# Michael Scammell (1963)
# Sidney Monas (1968)
# Julius Katzer (1985)
# David McDuff (1991)
# Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (1992)
# Oliver Ready (2014)
# Nicolas Pasternak Slater (2017)
# Michael R. Katz (2017)
# Roger Cockrell (2022)
# David Petault (self published, 2024)
The Garnett translation was the dominant translation for more than 80
years after its publication in 1914. Since the 1990s, McDuff and
Pevear/Volokhonsky have become its major competitors.
Adaptations
======================================================================
There have been over 25 screen adaptations of 'Crime and Punishment'.
They include:
* 'Raskolnikow' (aka 'Crime and Punishment', 1923) directed by Robert
Wiene
* 'Crime and Punishment' (1935 French film) directed by Pierre Chenal,
starring Harry Baur and Pierre Blanchar
* 'Crime and Punishment' (1935 American film) starring Peter Lorre,
Edward Arnold and Marian Marsh
* 'Crime and Punishment' (1956 film) directed by Georges Lampin,
starring Jean Gabin and Robert Hossein
* 'Crime and Punishment' (1970 film) Soviet film directed by Lev
Kulidzhanov, starring Georgi Taratorkin, Tatyana Bedova, Vladimir
Basov, Victoria Fyodorova
* 'Crime and Punishment' (1979 TV series) is a three-part 1979
television serial produced by the BBC, starring John Hurt as
Raskolnikov and Timothy West as Porfiry Petrovich
* 'Crime and Punishment' (1983 film) (original title, 'Rikos ja
Rangaistus'), the first movie by the Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki,
with Markku Toikka in the lead role. The story has been transplanted
to modern-day Helsinki, Finland.
* 'Without Compassion' (1994), directed by Francisco Lombardi,
starring Diego Bertie and Adriana Dávila Franke
* 'Crime and Punishment in Suburbia' (2000), an adaptation set in
modern America and "loosely based" on the novel
* 'Crime and Punishment' (2002 Russian film), starring Crispin Glover
and Vanessa Redgrave
* 'Crime and Punishment' (2002 TV film), a 2002 television serial
produced by the BBC, starring John Simm as Raskolnikov and Ian
McDiarmid as Porfiry Petrovich
* 'Crime and Punishment' (2007 Russian TV series) (ru), a 2007
television serial directed by Dmitry Svetozarov, starring Vladimir
Koshevoy as Raskolnikov, which aired on Channel One Russia
* 'Crime and Punishment' (2024 Russian TV series), a 2024 television
serial directed by Vladimir Mirzoyev, starring Ivan Yankovsky as
Raskolnikov, which aired on streaming service Kinopoisk
References
======================================================================
Text
* Dostoevsky, Fyodor (1866). 'Crime and Punishment.' Translated in
English by [
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2554/2554-h/2554-h.htm
Constance Garnett].
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* :
** Peace, Richard. "Introduction", 1-16.
** Fanger, Donald. "Apogee: Crime and Punishment", 17-35.
** Lindenmeyr, Adele. "Raskolnikov's City and the Napoleonic Plan",
37-49.
** Wasiolek, Edward. "Raskolnikov's City and the Napoleonic Plan",
51-74.
** Peace, Richard. "Motive and Symbol", 75-101.
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
======================================================================
Criticisms
* [
http://www1.umn.edu/lol-russ/hpgary/Russ3421/lesson9.htm University
of Minnesota study guide]
* [
http://www.bibliomania.com/0/0/235/1029/frameset.html Text and
Analysis at Bibliomania]
*[
https://polka.academy/articles/627 Text about 'Crime and
Punishment'] by Lev Oborin (in Russian)
Online text
*
*
* [
http://ilibrary.ru/text/69/p.1/ Full text]
* [
http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/title/c/cap.html Lit2Go audiobook version
of the Constance Garnett translation].
* [
https://imwerden.de/pdf/dostoevsky_prestuplenie_i_nakazanie.pdf
Full text in old orthography (Russian)]
Maps
*
[
https://web.archive.org/web/20100601161932/http://ascitweb.clas.virginia.edu/projects/jconnolly/index.php?sid=5&pid=1
Mapping St. Petersburg - 'Crime and Punishment']
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=========
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Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_and_Punishment
