CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

Fyodor Mikhailovich
Dostoevsky (1821-1881)

Nineteenth-Century
Russia
major upheaval, political uncertainty and
war
Napoleonic Wars 1803-1815
Fyodor Dostoevsky born 1821
Czars Nicholas I and Alexander II
Nihilists

Biographical Information
family background- middle class (had once
achieved nobility but then fallen into decline)
poverty, gambling addiction (Marmeladov?)
strained relationship with father
temperamental: "He was almost pathologically
high strung, morose, suspicious... either sullen
and silent or else outspoken and polemical.
epileptic- man as "the sick animal
joined a group of Christian socialist
intellectuals, arrested, sentenced to 8 years of
hard labor in Siberia, then death by firing
squad, reprieved by the czar, then 4 years of
Siberia and 4 years in Russian army

The Mystery of Man

Romantic vision of man as a unique creature
composed of conflicting elements
"Our world is the purgatory of heavenly spirits
darkened by sinful thoughts."
sanctification through suffering
the concept of the double
Romantic hero: presented qualities of revolt,
cynicism, and moral flaw in intelligent and
attractive light

Crime and Punishment

published in 1866 as a monthly serial in a
Russian literary journal
Can evil means justify honorable ends?
Who is the real criminal?
Character as mystery

Purposes
Expose of social conditions in 19th cent. Russia
Satirical analysis of liberal and radical politics
Religious call for redemption through suffering
Study of the nature of good and evil, intellect
and emotion
Psychological account for crime, search for
motive

Robert Louis Jackson Dialogues with Dostoevsky.

"Dostoevsky," he continues, "has become

an icon--in some respects a cliche--for
twentieth-century self-consciousness: to
know him has been to know ourselves
and our century."

Author Profile
Inherent in Dostoevskys literary canon is
the primacy of the freedom of the
individual.
He argued in The Double and other works
that the problems of society were caused
by the absence of freedom; humankind
had been overcome by the impact of
human institutionsthe church, the state,
and economic structuresand by the
assumed beliefs in God and in economic
and social values.

Author Profile cont.

SO - Dostoevsky advanced a radical
philosophy in which he condemned
encumbrances to freedom.
He maintained that the so-called laws of
nature did not exist; sustaining a belief
in these laws would inevitably result in
the restriction of freedom.
It was only through unbridled and anarchical
freedom that the individual would be totally
free and thus recognize his or her own identity.

Author Profile cont.

This condition would preclude all forms of
ethics except for a hedonistic ethics
based on the interests of the self.
Dostoevsky recognized the anarchical
ramifications of his argument and
attempted unsuccessfully to address
them in Crime and Punishment and The
Brothers Karamazov.
If truth does not exist, there is no basis
for ethical principles.

Crime and Punishment

In this novel Dostoevsky brings to a high
pitch the intellectual and emotional
conflicts of human beings.
Raskolnikovs way of thinking, his sense of
superiority over other human beings, is brilliantly
dramatized at the same time that Dostoevsky
reveals his isolation, his moral vacuity, and his
inability, despite possessing great intellect, to
attain a sense of humanity.

In this novel Dostoevsky profoundly

questions the value of human intellect apart
from emotional, indeed religious, feelings.

Intellect- Raskolnikov and

Luzhin
Both men have projects that fail
and both blame the failure on a
blunder a mere mistake and
see nothing else blameworthy in
what they have done.
In both men, pure intellect
dominates without the softer
human emotion.

After Crime and

Punishment
In much of his subsequent work
Dostoevsky probes deeply into human
compulsiveness and into the sins that
human beings commit against one
another.
Distrustful of purely rationalistic and
political panaceas (an attitude that was,
in part, a reaction against his early
radicalism), he stresses compassion for
human beings and the inevitability of
suffering.

Nietzsches Superman

See notes for explanation.

nihilism
1. An extreme form of skepticism that
denies all existence.

2. A doctrine holding that all values are

baseless and that nothing can be known or
communicated.

A diffuse, revolutionary movement of mid

19th-century Russia that scorned authority
and tradition and believed in reason,
materialism, and radical change in society
and government through terrorism and
assassination.

nihilism
It is a philosophical position developed in
Russia in the 1850s and 1860s, known
for negating more, in the words of
Lebezyatnikov.
It rejected family and societal bonds and
emotional and aesthetic concerns in
favor of a strict materialism, or the idea
that there is no mind or soul outside
of the physical world.

utilitarianism
Linked to nihilism is utilitarianism, or the idea that
moral decisions should be based on the rule of the
greatest happiness for the largest number of people.
(56)
Raskolnikov originally justifies the murder of Alyona on
utilitarian grounds, claiming that a louse has been
removed from society.

Whether or not the murder is actually a utilitarian act,

Raskolnikov is certainly a nihilist; completely
unsentimental for most of the novel, he cares nothing
about the emotions of others.
Similarly, he utterly disregards social conventions that
run counter to the austere interactions that he desires
with the world. However, at the end of the novel, as
Raskolnikov discovers love, he throws off his nihilism.
Through this action, the novel condemns nihilism as
empty.

Setting-a social narrative

St. Petersburg misery (think back to
Hamlet)
Raskolnikov is a child of that misery,
patently belonging to the world of the
insulted and injured, though in him the
humility and submissiveness of that worlds
human mixture are turned inside out.
He is the first of its inhabitants to attempt
its redemption by making a bid, in however
futile and hideous a fashion, for freedom
and power.

Russian meanings
Name

Word

Meaning (in Russian)

Rodion Romanovich
Raskolnikov

raskol

a schism, or split;
"raskolnik" is "one who splits
(*doppleganger)

Pyotr Petrovich Luzhin

luzha

a puddle

Dmitri Prokofych
Razumikhin

razum

reason, intelligence

Alexander Grigorievich
Zamyotov

zametit

to notice, to realize

Semyon Zakharovich
Marmeladov

marmelad

marmalade/jam

Arkady Ivanovich
Svidrigailov

Svidrigailo

a Lithuanian prince

More than just one

crime
The novel contains many examples
of crime or transgression
translated from the Russian
prestuplenie
Raskolnikov, Sonya, Luzhin,
Svidrigailov
All of these characters engage in
transgressions as a means to an end

Plot structure

Parts I-III: present the predominantly rational and proud

Raskolnikov
-the progressive death of the first ruling principle of his
character
*point of change in the middle of the novel
Parts IV-VI: the emerging "irrational" and humble
Raskolnikov
-progressive birth of the new ruling principle

Monomania and malaise

and ennui
Monomania = pathological obsession with
one idea or subject; intent concentration on
or exaggerated enthusiasm for a single
subject or idea (re: murder of pawnbroker
and Lizaveta) (23)
Malaise = a vague feeling of bodily
discomfort, as at the beginning of an illness;
a general sense of depression or unease (Rs
pathological condition or soul-sickness?)
Ennui (Fr. boredom) = listlessness and
dissatisfaction resulting from lack of
interest; boredom (sensuality as a flight
from it Svidrigaylov)

Three thematic
elements
Primary theme of Raskolnikovs crime
and its consequences
Minor theme of the lowly and good
Marmeladovs
Minor theme of the wealthy immoralist
Svidrigaylov (see Marquis de Sade)
*Latent theme = right to violent rebellion

Sacrifice
Many examples of sacrifice / self
sacrifice
In general, Dostoevsky emphasizes
the ironic ineffectuality of the
sacrifices being made.
Sonya for the Marmeladovs,
Lizaveta for her sister, Dunya for
her mother and brother, Raskolnikov
for the sake of a theory

Suffering
Suffering is a major component of the novel.
The characters are citizens of St. Petersburg poor
and miserable and almost without exception, they
suffer

Some of the characters seem to need to

suffer: Marmeladov (18-19), Katerina
(martyr?), Mikolka
There is a connection between piety and the
acceptance of suffering Sonya, Lizaveta,
Mikolka
What does suffering have to with Raskolnikov
in the Epilogue?

Suffering
Porfiry says to Raskolnikov, Do
you, Rodion Romanovich, know
what some of these people mean
by suffering?. . . It is not
suffering for somebodys sake,
but simply suffering is necessary
the acceptance of suffering, that
means, and if it is at the hands of
the authorities, so much the
better (VI, 2).

Moral Standards
The moral standards in the novel are
Christian.
They are represented by Sonya,
Razumikhin, and Porfiry although
never stated directly by any of them.
Christian morality / these characters
recognize crime and find no excuse
for wrongdoing. No class of man is
exempt; all men must accept
responsibility.

Lazarus
After learning that Alyona will be home
alone at 7 oclock, he goes like a man
condemned to death (I,5).
On his way to murder Alyona, he compares
himself to a man going to execution
Before his encounter in the tavern with
Zamyotov, he thinks of a condemned man
given the choice to die or live on a hands
breadth of ground (II,6).
The story of Lazarus brought back from the
dead becomes an important part of the
story.

Lazarus
Porfiry first mentions Lazarus: A-aand, do you believe in the raising of
Lazarus? (III,5)
Raskolnikov asks Sonya to read the
story of Lazarus
Raskolnikovs resurrection / return to
life / renewal occurs in the Epilogue
or at least ends there. Like Lazarus,
it may be connected to the fourth
day.

A modern case
Porfiry: a modern [contemporary] case
(385) = a spiritual and mental self-division
and self-contradiction
Problematical nature of modern personality
and of its tortuous efforts to stem the
disintegration threatening it
The search for the true cause = (1) ideas
bearing on the nature of crime and its
relation to psychic illness; (2) ideas about
two kinds of human beings (ordinary and
extraordinary); (3) ideas concerning the
supernal value of suffering and the
promise of deliverance in Christ

TEXT - CRIMINALITY
PART ONE CHAPTER SIX (p. 54-7 in my book)
Superstitious events

PART ONE CHAPTER SIX (p. 60-1 in my book)

Nature of crime/criminal

PART THREE CHAPTER FIVE (p. 216-225 in my

book)
Is there such a thing as crime?

PART FOUR CHAPTER FIVE (p. 286-290 in my

book)
Porfiry on crime

CHARACTERS

Characters
Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov (ROHdyon roh-MAH-noh-vihch ras- KOL-nih-kov),
called Rodya, a psychologically complex
young law student who murders not for
wealth but as an experiment, to see if he is
one of those who can circumvent societys
restrictions.
Impoverished and weakened by illness and
hunger, he decides to rid society of a
worthless person in order to preserve his
genius for posterity, to relieve his devoted
mother and sister from compromising
themselves, and to prove that he is above
conscience.

Characters
Pulcheria Alexandrovna (pewl- CHEHryah ah-lehk-SAHN-drov-nah), his longsuffering mother, whose faith in her son
sustains her but whose mind gives way
under the strain of his deed and guilt.
A handsome, middle-aged woman of
distinction, a widow who has supported
her family and urged her son to make
his way in life, Pulcheria is a study of
motherhood thwarted, a woman
tortured by her inability to fathom her
favorites depravity.

Characters
Avdotya Romanovna (ahv-DOT-yah
roh-MAH-nov-nah), called Dounia
(DEW-nyah), her daughter and the
younger sister who has aided in her
mothers effort to make something of
her brother through working and
skimping.
A mirror of her mothers fortitude and
faith, Dounia is the beautiful,
impoverished, clear- sighted savior of
her family.

Characters
Dmitri Prokofitch Razumihin (DMIH-tree prohKOH-fihch rah-zew- MEE-hihn), Raskolnikovs
devoted friend.
Enamored of Dounia, he is the savior of the family
honor. Like Dounia, he has all the normal responses
of a generous nature and works unceasingly to
discover and repair the tragic situation of his
friend. Affianced to the beautiful Dounia, he founds
a publishing company to aid the hapless girl,
mother, and brother.
He is one of the few characters with a sense of
humor; his good deeds lighten a psychologically
gloomy and depth-insighted plot.

Characters
Sofya Semyonovna Marmeladov (sohFYAH seh-MYOH-nov-nah mahr-meh- LAHdov), called Sonia, the daughter of a drunken
clerk and stepdaughter of the high-strung
Katerina Ivanovna.
From gratitude, the benevolent though soiled
child of the streets comforts the murderer
and supports him in his transgressions so
that he finally will confess. Forced to support
her father, her stepmother, and their three
children, she remains unsullied, and her spirit
transcends these morbid conditions.

Characters
Arkady Ivanovitch Svidrigailov (ahrKAH-dee ee-VAH-noh-vihch svih-drih- GAYlov), the sensualist in whose house Dounia
had been a governess. He is both the
would-be seducer and savior of Dounia, and
through her of Sonias orphaned half sisters
and brother, when he gives her money as
atonement for his conduct.
A complicated character, sometimes
considered, with Raskolnikov, one of the
alter egos of the writer, he is obsessed by
guilt and driven by libido.

Characters
Porfiry Petrovitch (pohr-FIH- ree
peh-TROH-vihch), a brilliant detective
more interested in the rehabilitation
than the prosecution of the
murderer.
Somewhat disturbed and neurotic
himself, Porfiry seconds Sonias
influence and causes Raskolnikov to
confess his crime and thus begin his
redemption.