Dostoevsky (1821-1881) is the most influential and pragmatic novelist of the 19th century Russia. He has occupied a vast area in the field of literature by writing some unique and universal creations. But Dostoevsky is very popular and commonly well-known to us for his masterpiece Crime and Punishment. In this particular novel, he has tried his best to reflect the true picture of Russia focusing on various characters of the novel. Certainly, in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Raskolnicov is the most discussed heroic character i.e. it is a hero-dominated novel.
At the very beginning of the novel, we come to see that Raskolnicov has recently completed his university education and he was highly optimistic to get a good job after his graduation. He is looking for a job but he is failure to manage a job. Because of his unemployment, he is mentally very depressed and disappointed. He blames the social system of Russia because he thinks that corruption, misdeed, tyranny, persecution, class distinction, the difference between the rich and the poor, social injustice and so on have covered the whole range of the society.
Raskolnicov as a hero wants to translate his dream into reality by utilizing his educational skills. He dreams a lot when he studies at university. But when he completed his graduation, he found a big difference between dreams and reality. The mother and sister of Raskolnicov also expected a lot that he will drive the wheel of the family. Rascolnicov is suffering from an inferiority complex because of his inability to help his family members. Truly speaking, Raskolnicov is greatly influenced by the philosophy of Napoleon and he wants to be a superhero by doing extraordinary activities. He played a vital role to change the structure of society by eradicating corruption. So we can comment that Raskolnicov is not a coward rather we cannot but praise his heroic deed.
Dounia, the sister of Raskolnicov, is working in an office where Sidrigailov is the boss or master of Dounia. Dounia feels the unemployment problem of her brother Raskolnicov very deeply. She is very sensible, responsible and dutiful to her brother and mother. She possesses enchanting and mind-blowing beauty. Sidrigailov has fallen in love with the beauty and responsibility of Dounia. He proposes her to marry but she refuses and reacts very strongly. If we want to explain the profundity of his love, it becomes clear to us that he is very genuine and true to love. Because of the refusal of Dounia, he has ultimately committed suicide.
There is another character in this novel Crime and Punishment whose name is Razumikhin. He is very handsome, rich and responsive who also desires to get positive response from Dounia in the field of love. Luzhin is another competitor of love who wishes to win the heart of Dounia. But Dounia has refused his proposal because of his having lose character. Razumikhin is the worthiest person to the eyes of Dounia. That's why, she wants to keep up the request of Razumikhin by giving an important condition. The condition is that he has to provide a big amount of money for the business of her brother Raskolnicov. Razumikhin promptly accepted the proposal of Dounia. But when Raskolnicov has got this information, he bitterly criticizes his sister.
Raskolnicov, the protagonist of the novel, is so depressed and broken-hearted that he wants to change the structure of the society by doing something, even by killing somebody. In the city of St. Petersburg, there is an old lady who is called the pawnbroker. Actually, she would provide money to the people with high interest. Raskolnicov thinks that this old lady is a great obstacle in the way of the progress and the development of the society. He has decided to kill that old lady to remove the curse of the society.
When he was going to the house of that old lady to kill her, he was suffering from indecision. So he decided to come back home. On the way of returning home, he stopped in a tavern where he met Marmeladov, a drunker and a wretched man. Marmeladov expressed his grief to Raskolnicov that he has a sickly wife and a daughter named Sonia who is forced to take the profession of prostitution for maintaining the family. After long days, once Raskolnicov heard that Marmeladov was run over by a carriage.
Raskolnicov, who is determine to kill the pawnbroker, is informed that the old lady is alone in house. According to the preplan, he has fired and killed that old lady along with her step sister. So, we have come to see that Raskolnicov has become a murderer by killing two ladies at a time The police is looking for Raskolnicov and he has seen his old photograph in the daily newspaper as a killer.
By killing this lady, he has invited his own catastrophe and tragic doom because crime does not allow anybody to escape from punishment. As he has committed crime, punishment is a must. Truly speaking, Raskolnicov is now in a great tension not only for himself but also for the family members. Now he is playing the role of a fugitive. Porfiry, an investigation officer, tricks Raskolnicov by saying that he was at that apartment when Raskolnicov murdered that old lady along with her step sister and forces to confess his guilt.
Raskolnicov has taken shelter in a brothel where the heroine Sonia lives as a prostitute. Sonia invites him to stay in her room. Raskolnicov has narrated the whole incident of his life to Sonia. Simultaneously, Sonia expresses her grief with Raskolnicov. Both of them are the victims of the circumstances because they have committed crime only for poverty, nothing else. Sonia comes to know the fact of the hero. When she wanted to know the cause of murdering, Raskolnicov says:
"No, Sonia, I was not hungry. I certainly wanted to help my mother and sister."
He again says:
"I wanted to become Napoleon, that's why I killed her."
He says-
"Did I murder the old woman? I murdered myself, not her."
After hearing the life story of Raskolnicov, Sonia consoles him in this way:
"There is no one- no one in the whole world now so unhappy as you."
He requests her:-
"Then you won't leave me, Sonia."
Sonia says:-
"No, no, never, nowhere-I will follow you. I will follow you everywhere."
Sonia has advised Raskolnicov to confess his guilt in the following way:
"I am a murderer! Then God will send you life again. Suffer and expiate your sin by it."
Sonia has advised Raskolnicov to surrender himself to the police but Raskolnicov wants to stay there without surrendering himself. But Sonia again and again requests him to obey the law of the country by surrendering. She continuously urges him to confess the guilt to the police.
For the continuous request of Sonia, Raskolnicov decides to surrender to the police. He wants to make a purgatorial journey of salvation. Because of his previous good deeds, he wasn't given death sentenced. The decision of the court was that he would have to go to Siberia and have to work hard for 8 years. Sonia was accompanied by the hero to go to Siberia's prison. The hero bowed down his head and kissed the feet of Sonia but he says:
"I didn't bow down to you. I bowed down to all suffering humanity,"
The hero further says:
"I have abandoned my family today, my mother and sister. I have only you. Let us go together. I've come to you. We're both accused. Let us go our way together."
Raskolnicov says:-
"I didn't kill a human being but a principle."
Sonia blames him that he is a hallow man having no spiritual fertility. She says:
"You have turned away from God and God has smitten you."
The Raskolnicov hopelessly answers:-
"Perhaps there is no God."
Raskolnicov thinks that he has got punishment both mentally and physically. Actually, here we can compare Raskolnicov with King Lear of William Shakespeare's King Lear. King Lear also suffers for his wrong decision to give his kingdom among his two daughters depriving Cordelia, the youngest one, from his property. He has suffered more than he committed crime and at the end he realized his fault and we see the purgation of his soul. Similarly, Raskolnicov has ultimately realized his fault and he thinks that as he has committed crime, punishment is a must. He has to penance.
Raskolnicov and Sonia started their purgatorial journey on foot to Siberia because they think that if they go there on foot, the intensity of the crime will reduce with the excretion of sweat. The hero consoles himself that though he is punished, he has done something good for the society. He has broken the long cherished convention.
Eventually, we can comment that Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment is a psychological novel where we come to see the mental conflict of the hero Raskolnicov. He suffers throughout the novel from mental anxiety for his wretched condition of the society. He committed crime because of his depression of unemployment, nothing else.
Prepared by:
Name: Mehedi Hasan
Batch no: 28.
Roll no: 33
Department of English
Dhaka International University
