A great villain believes they are the hero of the story..
Everyone has some sort of moral compass, and the idea of a moral is something that is built into the human mind or body. Since the dawn of man, we have had moral and psychological depth, and with the help of the philosophers who proceeded, society learned a thing or two about human morality.
Crime and Punishment succeeds in exploring moral ambiguity; inner moral and psychological conflict; and the human character. Fyodor Dostoevsky is a brilliant Russian author from the 1800’s who explored and represented both the human soul and character with utter profundity and accuracy.
Throughout my reading of Crime and Punishment, I was awestruck at the depth of the characters and how accurately their feelings, dialogue, and actions were written.
In a nutshell, this book is 500 pages of brilliance written by one of the greatest Russian writers of all time.
A summary of the plot and an introduction to the main character:
The book follows main character Raskolnikov, a poor man with a mother and sister, who see him as their ticket out of poverty. He lives in the poverty-stricken slums of Petersburg, Russia.
His situation becomes worse after he quits school and his job. He relies on the help and support of others around him – a theme that is explored further later on – and he has a less sociable demeanor than others.
The story is based around his internal moral conflict, psychology, and how his choices affect both himself and others –mental and external consequences. All in all, Raskolnikov is a psychologically tormented man who is down on his luck and attempts to fix his financial situation as quickly as possible by murdering an old, wealthy woman.
Many things go wrong throughout the story that compromise his “carefully” planned murder scheme, and he also has to deal with the emotional effects that this will have on him.
As the story progresses, it feels as if Raskolnikov’s life is crumbling before him.
Raskolnikov’s justification of crime, and his mindset at the start:
Raskolnikov is someone who has conflicting inner thoughts, and his mood shifts many times throughout the story.
He wants to find some sort of justification and reason behind what he’s done, as well as understanding and embracing the guilt and self-loathing that hurt him.
We see these inner conflicts come to light multiple times, and it appears to be two sides of the same coin.
*He shifts between being above morality and justifying his crime in his head, coming up with reasons. And also bearing the guilt and the mental + physical consequences of his actions, and self loathing.
Raskolnikov goes from justifying crime in his mind, and creating reasons around why crime is okay under certain circumstances. He believes that he can be above morality, but as the guilt eats at him, he realizes that he can’t bear the weight of his actions.
We see similar themes explored in later works such as “Strange tales of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1886, or even Harvey Dent/Two-Face from the Batman comics and films.
Dostoevsky determines that a man’s surroundings being unfavorable can lead him to do bad things.
We can see this in a popular sociological theory: the Strain theory. This theory concludes that when the means to achieve societal goals, such as money, are taken from someone, it can cause them to do deviant things.
Raskolnikov has no job, no schooling, and he is away from his family for a time. He is poor, and it feels as if life is all but fortunate. This concludes that one of his reasons for murder is to obtain financial success and to make his family’s expectations a reality.
“And do you know, Sonia, that low ceilings and tiny room cramp the soul and the mind?” – Raskolnikov.
This quote explains that one’s poor housing and unfortunate living circumstances can lead to them having a different mindset than most people with a stable living environment. Their thoughts may be cramped so as to think the most unjust things, like murder.
Raskolnikov, completely engulfed in such dire circumstances, forms evil thoughts, and for a long time, houses an intense moral debate in his mind.
“You know how I love you; you are all we have to look to, Dounia and I, you are our all, our one hope, our one stay. What a grief it was to me when I heard that you had given up the university.” – Raskolnikov’s mother.
Raskolnikov doesn’t want to fail his family. This was what possibly pressured Raskolnikov to want to murder the rich, old woman. He wanted to achieve the goals that those who loved him most wanted him to achieve. He wanted a quick way to get money, instead of working towards it, which is a direct result of his character.
He is consistently and constantly fortuitous, and he gets by through the help of others around him, which he also feels quite guilty for, loathing that fact.
*Since the beginning of the story, Raskolnikov still had guilt and feelings of shame about what he was planning to do and the evil thoughts he had.
Raskolnikov has his own justification for crime and murder. He exclaims that there are people in the world who have the ability to surpass both moral boundaries and evade societal punishment.
He explains that he is, too, one of these people, and that he is above morality.
“I simply hinted that an ‘extraordinary’ man has the right … that is not an official right, but an inner right to decide in his own conscience to overstep … certain obstacles, and only in case it is essential for the practical fulfillment of his idea (sometimes, perhaps, of benefit to the whole of humanity).” For a time, he truly believed that he was one of these “types” of people; until the looming guilt began to eat away at his mind.
Entering the psychology of a murder, and exploring the concept of guilt:
Towards the end of the book, Raskolnikov can hardly handle the guilt. And the moral battle that has been straining on him for so long is finding its victor. Not only is he completely distressed by his actions, but reality begins to chip away at him, like the beating heart under the floorboards in Poe’s famous poem, “The Tell-Tale Heart.”. And he begins to come to terms with what he’s done.
Raskolnikov begins to stray away further and further from the people who care about him, and this is because he believes that he is unworthy of the good things in his life. His guilt acts as a burden posted upon his mind and heart; which tears him to shreds, causing him to take on a sort of self loathing.
In the story, genuinely good things begin to take course in Raskolnikov’s life, but he eventually turns away from them because he feels undeserving of good fortune.
“He was preparing to leave them. ‘One would think you were burying me or saying good-bye forever,’ he said somewhat oddly. He attempted to smile, but it did not turn out a smile. ‘But who knows, perhaps it is the last time we shall see each other…’ he let slip accidentally. It was what he was thinking…” “… I feel ill, I am not at peace… I will come afterwards, I will come of myself… when it’s possible. I remember you and love you… Leave me, leave me alone.”
Raskolnikov feels like he can not even face his loved ones with the burden that he carries alone; the thought of reaping the benefits rather undeservingly is too much for him.
He takes it upon himself to leave them, and find reconciliation. This, on top of the fact that he knows he can not tell anyone that he is guilty, torments him to the highest degree.
Raskolnikov confides within the character, Sonia, who he falls in love with. Sonia serves as the final tipping point for him, and she shows him that it is better to be punished for what he’s done, instead of living with a guilty conscience and saving his soul. Throughout the story he slowly, but surely begins to understand the true gravity and validity of his crime.
Part of the reason that Raskolnikov chooses to confess to Sonia is because he feels like she is also a sinner with a guilty conscience like himself. Sonia is a prostitute, who resorts to dishonorable jobs in order to support her family; Raskolnikov views this as somewhat equal to what he’s done, and also serves as a reason for him being so heavily attracted to her.
He adores the idea of relating to someone, to finding an outlet in his inner struggle. Often, as people, we find it soothing to confess and express our feelings to people, in order to lift the weight of guilt off of our shoulders; which is what Raskolnikov wants to do here.
“(Raskolnikov’s dialogue) Well, if suddenly it depended on your decision whether he or they should go on living…” “… How would you decide which of them was to die? I ask you…””… (Sonia’s dialogue) But I can’t know the Divine Providence… And why do you ask what can’t be answered? What’s the use of such foolish questions? How could it happen that it should depend on my decision- who has made me a judge to decide who is to live and who is not to live?”
Here, Raskolnikov realizes that Sonia is religious, and he is quite mistaken in his interpretation. Sonia does not operate under the same mindset on crime that Raskolnikov does, and this simple interaction makes him understand the foolishness in his justification of crime.
Sonia cares for Raskolnikov, and chooses not to shame him and alienate him for what he’s done. And instead influences Raskolnikov to redeem himself, confess, and live guilt free by paying for his sins.
The story of Raskolnikov is one of tragedy, although it is difficult to portray that tragedy without reading the book itself. It connects to the soul and gives a relatable understanding of human nature and character. The way that Dostoevsky writes people is magnificent and unique.
Crime and Punishment teaches moral ambiguity, blurring the lines between right and wrong is a tool that Dostoevsky used to show us that morality can be interpreted very differently by different people. And his writing shows how circumstance, personality, experiences, environment, and many sociological things can affect the mind.
It serves as a cautionary tale for the impact of guilt, and how it is difficult for one person to handle the mental and spiritual impact their crimes can have on them. Raskolnikov suffers from a guilty conscience, and can not go on living normally; a feeling that is relatable and genuine.